Will stand by decision on Article 370, Citizenship Amendment Act: Narendra Modi

Prime Minister says these decisions were necessary in national interest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Varanasi

Despite international pressure, the government will continue to stand by its decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and introduce the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Sunday. 

He said the country had “awaited” these decisions for many years. “In national interest, these decisions were necessary,” Mr. Modi said at an event in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi. 

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Aur duniyabhar ke sare dawaabo ke bawajood, in faislo par hum kayam hai aur kayam rahenge  [Despite the various international pressures, we stand by these decisions and will continue to stand by them,” Mr. Modi said. The country was now taking decisions that were always left behind in the past, he added.

The Prime Minister’s tough talk assumed significance in view of protests against the CAA in various parts of the country.

Launches projects

In Varanasi, Mr. Modi launched projects worth ₹1,250 crore. He unveiled the statue of Deendayal Upadhyay, which, at 63 feet, is the largest statue of the leader in the country, as per the government. The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Memorial Centre.

Mr. Modi flagged off the third corporate train, Mahakaal Express, which links three Jyotirling pilgrim centres — Varanasi, Ujjain and Omkareshwar.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Modi attended the closing ceremony of the centenary celebration of Jagadguru Vishwaradhya Gurukul at Jangamwadi Mutt and released the translated version of ‘Shri Siddhant Shikhamani Granth’ in 19 languages. He also launched the ‘Shri Siddhant Shikhamani Granth’ mobile app.

Citing certain key decisions of his government, Mr. Modi referred to the trust set up for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and said it would work “rapidly.”

He said that after setting up of the trust, the work on the construction of ‘Ram dham’ would start fast and added that his government had also decided to transfer 67 acres of land to the trust.

He also inaugurated a 430-bed superspeciality government hospital.

Mr. Modi said that in the past few years, ₹25,000 crore worth developmental projects had either been completed or were going on at a fast pace in Varanasi.

Roadway, highway, waterway and railway had been given top priority by the government and the Purvanchal Expressway work was going on at fast speed in Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister also laid emphasis on better connectivity of heritage and religious sites, saying tourism would be the main source of making the country a $5 trillion economy.

(With PTI inputs)