New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS): The spadework for withdrawing special status to J&K had begun during the first tenure of the NDA government between 2014 and 2019, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, here on Thursday.

Addressing the annual general body meeting of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, Singh said the decision to nullify Article 370 and create two Union Territories in J&K had ended the discrimination faced by people during the past 70 years.

On August 5, Parliament revoked special status for the state through a Presidential order by reading down provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution. A Bill to bifurcate J&K into two UTs -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- was later passed by Parliament.

Singh said the J&K decision had left the neighbouring country unhappy and that would try to disturb peace. But the armed forces had accepted the security challenge and were prepared to meet any threats, the Defence Minister added.