Govt to come up with ‘structured’ response on Art 370, says Prasad

The government on Saturday said it will come up with a ‘structured’ response to the issue of Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, at an appropriate time amid a raging debate on it sparked by union minister Jitendra Singh’s remark.

‘At the appropriate time, the government of India, led by Narendra Modi, will come with a response on the issue of Article 370,’ law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He was responding to questions on the remarks of Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh seeking a debate on the future of Article 370.

Prasad said the decision on giving the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will be taken by the Speaker and as a Law Minister he was not the right person to answer the query.

‘Who will be the Leader of the Opposition is the prerogative of the Speaker. The decision of the Speaker is there, the norms are there. The law states what shall be the entitlement of the Leader of the Opposition...this is the call which has to be taken by the Speaker,’ he told Karan Thapar on Headlines Today.