India News | J&K's Face and Destiny Changing at Fast Pace: Rajnath Singh

Jammu, Jun 17 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the face and destiny of Jammu and Kashmir are changing at a very fast pace and the time is not far when it will become an example not only for the country but whole of Asia.

Singh said the people of Jammu and Kashmir suffered a lot of pain over the last 70 years as “vote bank politics” and “vested interests” of some became a hurdle in the revocation of Article 370 and strengthened the separatist ideology.

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“At last, the historic day came (on August 5, 2019) when both houses of parliament passed the resolution to end Article 370 (granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir) and with it, the constitutional distance was bridged and a lot of changes which should have taken place much before started happening here,” Singh said.

The defence minister said was addressing a function organised by Maharaja Gulab Singh Memorial Trust to celebrate 200th year of coronation of the founder of Dogra rule here.

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Singh, who reached here on the second leg of his two-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir – his first after the abrogation of the Article 370 – said Jammu and Kashmir suffered a lot over the past 70 years by living in isolation.

“The new Jammu and Kashmir will become an example not only for the country but for the whole of Asia and I am sure about it,” he said, adding investment worth Rs 17,000 crore had taken place over the past seven decades and investment proposals worth Rs 38,000 crore were received after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 which shows that the face and destiny of Jammu and Kashmir are changing at a very fast pace.

Paying rich tributes to Dogra rulers, including Maharaja Gulab Singh, he said Jammu and Kashmir has always remained a “multi-cultural society” and appealed to the people to “maintain the social fabric by rising above religion, caste and creed”.

“India is the only country which spreads the message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (world is one family) and we have to live by it,” he said.

Dogra rulers made sure that Jammu and Kashmir remained a part of India and since its accession, there been no step motherly treatment towards it and the separatist forces have never become strong, he said.

Article 370 kept Jammu and Kashmir separate from the rest of the country and some people had predicted the problems that the region would face in the future, Singh said.

“Therefore, an agitation was launched by Praja Parishad which gave the slogan against two constitutions, two prime ministers and two flags,” he said, adding that they were joined by Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee who sacrificed his life for the cause and thus revoking Article 370 became a national issue.

However, those who indulge in vote bank politics and other vested interests were in favour of Article 370 but when 2019 came, we made it clear in our party manifesto that “we will end this to remove the burden on the people of J&K.”

“When the manifesto was being prepared, I visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi because I was the chairman of the (manifesto) committee and told him that we have to finish this Article to which he agreed,” he said, referring to the benefits that various sections of the society like Pakistani refugees, Valmiki Samaj and others got by its revocation.

He said over 170 central laws and acts like the anti-corruption act came into force in Jammu and Kashmir with the abrogation of Article 370 and Panchayati Raj was strengthened despite attempts to “foil the efforts of our prime minister who believes in strengthening of grossroots democracy”.

In his address, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said separatism, corruption and dynastic rule oppressed the people of the Union Territory for over seven decades.

“By revoking Article 370, the prime minister relieved the people of its burden and opened ways for their welfare. The coming times belong to one nation, one mission and one constitution,” he said.

Efforts are on to make the lives of the people comfortable without any discrimination, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)