Repealing Article 370 is India's internal matter, Modi tells UN Secretary General

PM Modi met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the G-7 summit and told him that terrorism was the primary threat and concern and in keeping with that certain restrictions will remain in place in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure law and order is maintained.

Biarritz: Prime Minister Narendra Modi told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during their meeting on Sunday that repeal of Article 370 was India's internal matter and no step has been taken by New Delhi that in any manner threatens regional peace.

The Prime Minister also told Guterres during their meeting on the sidelines of the G-7 summit that terrorism was the primary threat and concern and in keeping with that certain restrictions will remain in place in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure law and order is maintained.

PM Modi added that restrictions will be progressively lifted.

Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale, who briefed reporters in Biarritz on Monday said that UN Secretary General's primary aim of calling on the Prime Minister was climate change summit. Modi conveyed that India stood with him on this.

Answering a query if there was some discussion on Kashmir, he said there was 'some discussion there'.

"The Prime Minister essentially laid out our basic position on the internal matter that Article 370 is under the Constitution, that on international front no step has been taken by India in any way or form to threaten regional peace and stability, that normalcy is returning to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, that in many areas restricts substantially eased or entirely removed and underlining that people and the state have faced terrorism for 30 or more years and that this is the primary threat, this is our concern and therefore, in keeping with that certain restrictions will remain in place to ensure law and order is maintained and will be progressively lifted," Gokhale said.

The PMO had said in a tweet after Modi's meeting with Guterres that the two leaders had "fruitful discussions on a wide range of subjects."

The Indian government had earlier this month repealed Article 370, which gave special powers to Jammu and Kashmir and also reorganised Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.