Srinagar: Asserting that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are extremely positive and want progress, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said some fringe elements from outside the country are trying to derail peace and development in the Union Territory.
He said a strong India is incomplete without a strong Jammu and Kashmir and assured the local youths that “we will make you proud by giving you full space to echo your voice, to speak out”.
The Minister of Parliamentary and Minority Affairs, who was addressing the Alumni Meet 2025 at Kashmir University, stressed that politicians must forget political differences in the interest of the country and walk together on the “path of love” rather than “opening shops of love”.
He also referred to his chance meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Asia’s largest Tulip Garden along the banks of Dal Lake during his last visit to Kashmir in April and said “the sudden early morning meeting triggered a political storm which should not have happened”.
“We must ensure that we are part of that great journey, the ‘Viksit Bharat’ journey. So, we will come and cross all the barriers. We must forget political differences. We can be on different political turf… let us move forward happily together with love.
“I would like to say that I do not believe in opening a shop of love. But I do believe in walking together on the path of love,” the minister said.
Assuring full cooperation of his ministry to Jammu and Kashmir, Rijiju said he has seen that the people of J&K are extremely positive.
“They want to progress, and they have shown the ways, but there are a few elements which make attempts from time to time to derail those efforts, and I firmly believe that the entire alumni and the University of Kashmir have the power to set the right narrative for the future of J&K,” he said.
He said the University of Kashmir can do much more than what it has done so far, because “we cannot just brush aside the minority elements, which we treat as fringe elements, to take a space, because it takes a few attempts by some of the negative elements to create trouble for the society.”
He said the society should not give any space to all the negative elements which come from outside the country, and “I firmly believe that the University of Kashmir will be a torch-bearing force to show the positive light for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Talking about a strong India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “I do not see it complete without a strong Jammu and Kashmir.”
“I want to assure the youth of Jammu and Kashmir that we will make you proud by giving you full space to echo your voice, to speak out. All the freedom that you deserve, you will get it. But then, we will have to speak as true Indians.
“We are all proud Indians. Today, every Indian is proud to be a citizen of this country because India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We could not achieve the status of a developed country in the last 75 years. But Modi has set the tone.
“What we could not achieve in the last 75 years, we will achieve in the remaining years,” he said, adding, “When we celebrate the centenary year of India’s independence, India should have achieved the status of a developed nation.”
Praising Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for their efforts, he said justice is not only delivered from the courtrooms but is much beyond that.
“We can offer justice by reaching out to the people. What justice actually means is that ordinary people get basic things in their lives without any struggle. Clean air to breathe is also seeking justice,” he said.
As a part of the democratic process, he said it is incumbent upon the government to ensure basic things like good roads for the people.
