Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a three-day tour of J&K, on Sunday said dadagiri (bullying) of three families has ended and any grassroots representative could aim to become a Union minister or even a chief minister of the Union Territory (UT).
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation of grassroots representation in J&K where 30,000 panch and sarpanch were elected and tehsil and zila-level elections were held for the first time in 70 years. Dadagiri of three families will not work now. Any panch or sarpanch can become a Union minister or even chief minister,” Mr. Shah said, in his speech at Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar, in a veiled reference to National Conference (NC), Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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He said when the Centre introduced new industrial policy, the three families, which exploited J&K, used to mock who would come here.
“Due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, ₹12,000 crore investment has come till now to J&K. We aim at ₹51,000 crore investments by 2022,” Mr. Shah said.
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On the security situation, Mr. Shah said the civilian deaths have come down in J&K during the BJP rule.
“208 people were killed per year between 2004-14. We saw 2,081 people lose their lives between 2004-14. From 2014 to September 2021, 239 people lost their lives. We’re not satisfied as we want to build a situation where nobody loses their lives and terrorism completely ends. The Centre is committed to save the lives of the people of J&K and end the terrorism,” Mr. Shah said.
He described the reading down of Article 370 in 2019 as a step to achieve the dream of leaders like Prem Nath Dogra and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who believed in the slogan “ ek desh, ek vidhan, ek nishan” .
“It’s because of PM Modi we were able to realise the dream of Mukherjee and ensured his sacrifice did not go waste. Justice was delivered to Jammu, which will no more be sidelined. There will be neither injustice any more nor any politics of appeasement,” Mr. Shah said.
The Minister said J&K has finally been on the path of development. “No one will be allowed to disturb the era of development. Youth from Jammu and Kashmir need to work for the development and defeat the sinister designs,” he added.
Mr. Shah inaugurated the new campus of IIT Jammu and laid the foundation stone of a medical college. He also visited the forward areas in Jammu’s Makwal area and interacted with locals. Earlier in the day, Mr. Shah paid obeisance at the Digiana Gurudwara and prayed for peace and prosperity. He was accompanied by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The Union Home Minister said that the August 5, 2019 was “a historic decision by the PM”.
“Earlier people did not have the right to buy land, refugees did not have rights, people did not get reservation. But, now no one has to fear, because all the rights under the Indian Constitution are available to everyone,” he added.
He said the fresh investment will help create five lakh new jobs. “So far, land has been allotted for an investment of ₹7,000 crore in Jammu and ₹5,000 crore in Kashmir. It’s the magic of Modi ji,” he added.
Mr. Shah said a helicopter policy has been announced for J&K under which helipads will be built in every district. “People from the private sector will invest and different sectors will be linked together,” he added.
Amit Shah inaugurates new IIT campus
Earlier amid tight security, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the new campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jammu, officials said.
Mr. Shah, accompanied by Union Ministers Jitendra Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, reached Jammu airport from Srinagar and started his engagements with the inauguration of the new campus of the IIT-Jammu, they said.
Mr. Shah is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir , his first after the Centre revoked the erstwhile State’s special status and bifurcated it into union territories on August 5, 2019 .
The officials said the new campus of IIT-Jammu, built at a cost of ₹210 crore, has all the facilities like hostel, gymnasium, indoor games, along with higher education for the students.
Heavy rains lashed Jammu on Saturday, casting a shadow on the scheduled public meeting of the Union home minister. However, with improvement in the weather, the local unit of the BJP and the administration worked overnight to ensure the success of the rally.
Policemen and paramilitary personnel were deployed in strength in and around the venue.
Mr. Shah arrived at the rally amid thunderous applause and sloganeering by the participants who had reached the venue in large numbers to hear the home minister.
An official of the IIT-Jammu said, “It is a state of the art research centre to cater to students of various disciplines. It is meant for research and development.”.
Pays obeisance at Digiana Gurudwara
Mr. Shah also paid obeisance at the Digiana Gurudwara here.
Flanked by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Mr. Shah visited the gurudwara in the afternoon after addressing the rally, officials said.
(With inputs from PTI)
