Post abrogation of Art 370 JK witnessed all round development: Amit Shah
Srinagar/Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday highlighted the all-round development in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and exhorted the youth of Kashmir to ensure that they carry pens and laptops instead of stones.
Addressing an event after the inauguration of the three-day Vitasta Festival here, Shah said those who have known only the history of Jammu and Kashmir in the last four decades think that this is a disputed or disturbed area.
“But Kashmir is a land which has borne the brunt of bloodshed in the past and emerged victorious and more stable and peaceful,” he said, adding that this land saw nearly 40,000 deaths due to terrorism in the last three to four decades but today the same Kashmir is celebrating Vitasta Festival and marching ahead.
The home minister chose the occasion to call upon the youth of Kashmir to think about the rich cultural heritage of the valley.
“Those who handed over arms and stones to you, they were never your well-wishers. You should have pens, laptops and books in your hands and not stones,” he said, in an apparent reference to stone-pelting protests in the past.
He compared Kashmiri culture with the Vitasta (Jhelum) river and said, “If one knows the right history of Kashmir, hate has never been its part. Whosoever came to Kashmir was welcomed with open arms.”
The home minister also highlighted the all-round development in Jammu and Kashmir since abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state, in 2019.
He also said those who are only aware of Kashmir’s history in the last 40 years think of it as a disputed territory.
“Jammu and Kashmir has accepted the changes after the abrogation of Article 370,” Shah said addressing the “Vitasta Cultural Festival” here.
“Some people who know Kashmir’s history of only the last 30-40 years think it is a conflict, a disputed territory. It has seen many conflicts in the past. The same Kashmir is celebrating Vitasta,” he added.
Shah said 150 artistes from outside and 1,500 from Jammu and Kashmir are participating in the event.
“There will be cultural exchange,” he noted.
The home minister also said those who brought guns to Kashmir were not well-wishers of the people here.
He said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was peaceful now and the successful hosting of a G20 meeting in Srinagar proved it.
Inaugurating or laying foundation stones of various development projects in Kashmir Valley, Shah said that development funds used to go into the pockets of a few earlier but now all those deserving are getting the fruits of development.
He said that when it was decided to hold a meeting of the G20 in Srinagar, many people offered various comments and some, including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, made various predictions.
“But all these predictions were proved wrong as the G20 meeting in Srinagar was held successfully,” he said and appreciated the Jammu and Kashmir administration headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for it.
He also said the successful hosting of the G20 meeting would give a big boost to the tourism industry in Kashmir.
The meeting of the G20 tourism working group was held in Kashmir last month.
The home minister claimed that during earlier regimes, funds meant for the poor and farmers used to go into the pockets of a few.
“Many in Jammu and Kashmir have big houses in foreign lands and many used to go for 45-60 days’ vacations in foreign countries. From where this money came? This was money meant for the poor,” he said.
Now development funds are reaching actual beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer (DBT), he said.
In the last four years, the government built about 1.86 lakh houses for people in Jammu and Kashmir and Rs 23,000 crore was given to beneficiaries of various schemes through DBT.
The home minister also appealed to people to come forward and join hands in the march for development and fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah said the Narendra Modi government has laid a strong foundation for the eradication of corruption from the country, while alleging that the previous Congress-led UPA government was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore.
Besides the Congress, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also launched a scathing attack on the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and asked who will take responsibility for the death of 42,000 people due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah said a new Jammu and Kashmir is in the making after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019, with a 70-per cent decline in terror acts and stone-pelting almost done away with.
“(Narendra) Modi replaced the UPA government, which was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. The prime minister has laid a strong foundation for a corruption-free India,” he said, addressing a public rally here.
“Three families ruled Jammu and Kashmir for decades together and there was no development due to Article 370. As many as 42,000 people died due to terrorism and they are saying we should have kept Article 370 safeguarded,” Shah said.
The home minister said he wanted to ask NC president Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti that who is responsible for the death of the 42,000 people because their parties were in power in the erstwhile state at that time.
“Under Modi, the noose around terrorism has been tightened,” he said, adding that under the prime minister’s leadership, Jammu and Kashmir has started its journey on the path of progress.
Shah, who started his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir by paying tributes to BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the party headquarters here, said it was the latter’s sacrifice, motivation and pledge that there is no Article 370 today in Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory has been completely integrated with the country.
“Mookerjee is also credited with connecting West Bengal with India. He resigned as a minister (in 1953 from then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet) to launch his campaign for “ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan nahi chalenge” (there cannot be two sets of law, two chiefs and two symbols in a country) and reached Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Alleging that Mookerjee was killed in Jammu and Kashmir after his arrest for entering the region without a permit, Shah said his soul would be in peace after the abrogation of Article 370.
Lauding people for turning up in good numbers for the rally despite the scorching heat, the home minister said “a new Jammu and Kashmir is in the making under the Modi government”.
Referring to a terror incident and the subsequent reaction of Mufti, he said, “I want to tell Mufti and Abdullah that there has been a 70-per cent drop in terror activities during the nine years of the NDA rule (in Jammu and Kashmir), compared to the previous 10 years of the UPA government.
“Under the 10 years of the UPA government, 7,327 terror incidents took place, whereas the number stands at 2,350 in nine years of the NDA government.”
Shah said 2,056 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power at the Centre from 2004 to 2014, while the number stands at only 377 under the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
The number of separatist-sponsored calls for strikes dropped to 32 after the abrogation of Article 370, while there has been a 90-per cent decline in stone-pelting incidents, he said, adding, “This shows that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is improving and all sections of the society, including the deprived Gujjars and Paharis, are getting their rights and justice.”
Lauding Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and security forces for a successful conduct of a G20 meeting in Srinagar last month, he alleged that some political parties joined Pakistan in opposing the event and added that it has proved to be beneficial in conveying the message that the situation has improved Jammu and Kashmir.
“The tourist footfall in 2022 touched 1.88 crore, which is a record. During the rule of the three families, not even 50 per cent of such an arrival was recorded,” Shah said.
He said 28,000 youngsters have been given government jobs in a transparent manner since 2014, while 51,000 have been provided with self-employment opportunities and 70,000 others linked to the “Mission Youth”.
An industrial package of Rs 28,400 crore has been given to Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP government, the home minister said, adding that the youngsters who had stones in their hands earlier have now been equipped with laptops and they are re-writing their future as also taking care of the country’s future.
“The investment (in Jammu and Kashmir) is growing after the introduction of the industrial policy, the industrial land allotment policy, the private industrial estate development policy, the food processing, handicraft and handloom policy, the new film policy, the tourism homestay and sports policy,” he said.
In his address that lasted for more than 20 minutes, Shah also talked about the successful conduct of the Panchayati Raj Institution polls and said 32,000 panches and sarpanches are taking Jammu and Kashmir forward on the path of progress.
The home minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of several projects prior to his address.
“Today, three projects worth Rs 84 crore — a bone-and-joint hospital at Bakshi Nagar, a grid station and road widening from the Dogra chowk to the K C chowk — were completed, while foundations stones were laid for projects worth Rs 309 crore, including a Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Samba,” he said.
Shah said 97 lakh people have benefitted from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana or the national health protection scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, which is the only part of the country where all the citizens are entitled to its benefits.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is spending an amount of Rs 2 crore on the scheme on a daily basis, which is meant for poor people in other parts of the country, he said.
