New Delhi (CNN) Hindu nationalists in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long dreamed of stripping Indian-controlled Kashmir -- named Jammu and Kashmir state -- of its decades-old special status.

The special status gave the Muslim-majority state unique levels of autonomy, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly blamed it for poor economic growth and lack of investment in the territory.

"The people of Kashmir want freedom from the families who have occupied the region for 50 years," said Modi earlier this year, swiping at the political clans that have dominated the state's politics.

"The situation in Kashmir is such that the people there want change, whether it is over the issue of section 370 or section 35A," he added. Section 370 is the constitutional provision that guarantees Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

The "abrogation of Article 370" was also mentioned in the BJP election manifesto, released in April ahead of India's general elections. It was part of a promise "to overcome all obstacles that come in the way of development and provide adequate financial resources to all regions of the state."

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