Srinagar- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are free for the first time with the abrogation of Article 370 and they can now shape their destinies with their own hands.
In an interview with India Today, PM also said that the Constitution of India, which protects the rights of socially vulnerable groups, is fully applicable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He also spoke about the Supreme Court upholding Parliament’s decision to abrogate Article 370, elections in the Valley and ensuring sustained peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The issue in front of the country is not the Supreme Court bringing legal closure. The people have an issue with the delay in terminating a temporary provision,” Modi said.
He said despite India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru statement in Parliament on Article-370 that “Ghiste ghiste ghis jayega (it would erode and disappear one day)”, for seven decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of their rights, especially women and those from underprivileged communities.
“With Article 370 gone forever, the people of J&K and Ladakh, for the first time, are free to shape their destinies with their own hands,” he said.
The provisions of Article 370 were abrogated by the Centre on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. On December 11 this year, the Supreme Court five-judge Constitution Bench said the President’s 2019 order to scrap Article 370 was valid.
Speaking of the changes that have taken in the Union Territory post Article-370 abrogation, the PM said that the women of Jammu and Kashmir are today emerging in various fields, from sports to entrepreneurship, while new industries are opening up.
“Terrorism has hit record lows while tourism is hitting record highs. International events, such as G20 meetings, have taken place, and the world has witnessed the hospitality and pristine beauty of the region,” he said.
On what his government is doing to ensure this peace is sustained in Jammu and Kashmir, the PM said the Centre has adopted a multi-pronged approach with focus on security, development, investment in infrastructure and human capital and a complete re-engineering of government processes through reforms.
“We are absolutely on the path of ensuring sustainable peace, stability and prosperity for the people of the region by improving their living standards, promoting economic growth and generating employment opportunities,” the PM added
On holding elections in J&K, PM Modi said, “Jammu and Kashmir is already represented in our Parliament at the national level. At the local level, for the first time, we have been able to take democracy to the grassroots. A three-tier panchayati raj system has been established in the state and 35,000 leaders elected at the grassroots. Why do we underestimate the importance of these elections?”
“Be it democracy, development or dynamism, today the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are seeing all-round progress in every aspect,” he added.
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