PM to address nation at 8 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Thursday at 8 pm, the PMO has said. "Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi will be addressing the nation at 8 PM today," it said in a tweet.

During the address he is expected to explain the government's decisions on abrogating special status to Jammu and Kashmir and splitting the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, sources said. The last time he addressed the nation was on March 27 during the Lok Sabha polls when he announced that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile (A-Sat) capability by shooting down a live satellite.

On Tuesday, Parliament approved a resolution abrogating special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution. It also cleared a bill to split the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The proposed address comes days before the prime minister's customary address to the nation on Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort.