Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday strongly defended his government's decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the provision has not given anything except separatism, corruption and family rule to the state, and Pakistan has used it as a tool to spread terrorism. Here are the top quotes from his address.

- Kashmir is under Centre temporarily. Free and fair polls will be conducted. I am giving assurance that you will get opportunity to elect your representatives in a transparent way, PM Modi said

- State government employees including police will soon get benefits on par with employees of other Union Territories, said the PM

- Soon, the process of filling the vacant posts of central and state in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be started. This will provide employment opportunities to the local youth. Centre's public sector units and private sector companies will also be encouraged to provide jobs, the Prime Minister said

-Article 370 was used as a weapon. Now, all Indians have same rights. This will secure the future of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh, the Prime Minister said

- The holy festival of Eid is also about to come. We are making sure that people in J&K have no problem in celebrating Eid. Those from J&K who live elsewhere and want to go to J&K to celebrate the festival will be helped by us, the PM said

- We should not forget that patriots of Jammu and Kashmir have stood firmly to counter the conspiracies of Pakistan meant to encourage terrorism and separatism, PM Modi said

- I respect objections of those opposed to our decisions. Will request them to keep national interests supreme, said the PM

-Daughters of Jammu and Kashmir were denied their rights. Laws for SCs/STs did not apply in Jammu and Kashmir but they are applicable now, the Prime Minister said

- After the governor's rule was implemented, the state administration was in touch with the Centre. It was a well thought over decision. The effects of good governance and development is now visible in J&K under the central administration, the Prime Minister said

-I want to say to all that we are concerned about the grievances of the people of J&K and Ladakh, their happiness, sorrow and their suffering are no different from us, said the Prime Minister. 

- Now, the innovative spirit of the youth of Ladakh will be promoted, they will get better institutions for good education, people will get good hospitals, along with rapid modernisation of infrastructure, said the PM

-Sometimes, we think nothing will change. That's what happened with Article 370. Nobody talked about the harm Article 370 did. Article 370 fuelled terror and corruption, says PM

-The dreams of Sardar Patel, BR Ambedkar, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, and of crores of people has come true, says PM Modi

-The Safai Karamcharis Act is applicable to the workers in other states of the country, but workers in J&K were deprived of it. Strict laws are in place to prevent atrocities on Dalits in other states of the country, but this was not the case in Jammu and Kashmir, said PM Modi

-As a nation, as a family, you, we, the whole country have taken a historic decision. I congratulate people of J&K, Ladakh and the whole nation. Such a system, due to which our siblings of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were deprived of many rights, which was a major obstacle in their development, they have now gone away, says PM Modi