No change in BJP's position on Article 370: Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu

HYDERABAD: Senior BJP leader and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said there is no change in the party's stand on Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP-PDP alliance formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of a common mininum programme, he told reporters here.

Asked if the BJP had compromised on the issue of Article 370, Venkaiah said, "Our stand is where we were and we will be".

Replying to a question if the PDP had agreed to the saffron party's stand over the matter, Venkaiah Naidu said "Neither they are towing our line (stand) nor we are towing their line (stand)".

Speaking about the BJP-PDP alliance government in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "It's a historic day. Jana Sangh leader Syama Prasad Mookherjee laid down his life there fighting for the cause of the country's unity (integration of entire Jammu and Kashmir with India) and now a BJP government has been formed in Jammu and Kashmir as a coalition government".