The Narendra Modi government has chosen October 31, the birthday of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, as the date for the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh to come into being.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued notification on the "appointed day" for the establishment of the union territories, soon after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of section 2 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 31st day of October 2019, as the appointed day for the purposes of the said Act," the MHA notification said.
The choice of October 31 as the appointed day for Jammu and Kashmir comes as the ruling BJP wants to sent further political message on its Kashmir plank.