Beginning of a new era in J&K, Ladakh: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Thursday said that it is the beginning of a "new era" in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that the rights of all the people across the country are now same.

"This is the beginning of a new era in Jammu and Kashmir. Now the rights as well as responsibilities of people across the country are equal," Modi said in his first address to the nation after the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha. 

In his almost 40-minute long speech, Modi also congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to the region, and the Parliament's nod to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh sans one. IANS