Following the announcement to scrap off Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, in the Parliament today, Home Minister Amit Shah said that J&K will no longer be a state and that it will be a Union Territory (UT).

Subsequently, Ladakh will be separated from J&K and will be organised as a Union Territory without an assembly. However, under the proposal, Jammu and Kashmir will be a Union Territory with an assembly.

Shah informed the House that there will be two Lieutenant Governors for the two UTs.

The Home Minister stated that the Ladakh division of Jammu and Kashmir has a large area but is sparsely populated with a difficult terrain. Another reason as per the Union Minister is that it has been a longstanding demand of the people of Ladakh, to give it the status of a Union Territory.

Further, Shah added that pertaining to the prevailing security situation due to cross-border terrorism threat in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a separate Union Territory for Jammu and Kashmir was being created. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir would be with legislature.