Union Minister Dr. Jitender Singh, who is in Kashmir to campaign for the ongoing District Development Council (DDC) polls , on Monday said the ongoing third-tier election under the panchayati raj system “is the real self-rule”.
“First time in 70 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi realised the dream of conducting the third-tier polls in J&K. The election is real self-rule," he stated.
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Making a veiled reference to the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said these parties only wanted autonomy and self-rule for themselves “by winning elections with just 10 percent voting”.
The conduct of the DDC polls was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of democracy in Kashmir, he claimed.
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“In the first phase, the polling percentage was much higher than the previous Lok Sabha elections. Today’s elections are an aspirational outlet, through local self governance and it’s a reflection of peoples’ enthusiasm”, he observed.
Dynasty politics
These polls would also end the dynasty politics in Kashmir and help in emerging leadership from the grass roots level. “People are exercising their vote without fear. This election is to end the dynasty rule. Every mother of J&K can dream of his son becoming chief minister”, he said.
Referring to PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti’s statement on talks with Pakistan, Dr. Singh asserted that the part of Jammu and Kashmir lying under the occupation of Pakistan “was the only issue left with the neighbouring country and it needs to be retrieved”.
“The Parliament in 1994 passed a resolution on India’s stand that PoK is the only issue”, he said.
Dr. Singh termed Ms. Mufti's statement on China “unfounded”. “No land of India is under Chinese occupation. The stand-off is because of an unclear line since the Pandit [Jawaharlal] Nehru [time]”, he added.