Jammu: Asserting that terrorism is taking its last breath in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government projected new leadership to counter “dynastic politics” that has destroyed “this beautiful region”.
Addressing a massive election rally in support of BJP candidates in Doda district of Jammu region, Modi also reiterated his government’s promise of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and cautioned people against bringing the NC, Congress and the PDP back to power.
This was the first election rally by the prime minister in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the first phase of the assembly polls on September 18, which will cover 24 seats spread across the three districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban in Jammu and the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam.
The first phase will be followed by the next on September 25, when polling will be held in 26 constituencies. The last phase will be on October 1 for 40 seats.
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language.
“This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence,” he told the gathering.
“Not only this, dynastic politics made this beautiful region hollow from within. The political parties you trusted never cared for your children. They only cared for and projected their children and did not let new leadership grow,” Modi added.
The prime minister said his government focused on carving out a young leadership in Jammu and Kashmir soon after “we came to power at the Centre in 2014”.
“The youths of J&K used to face the brunt of terrorism. The parties which encouraged family rule by misleading people enjoyed power and did not allow young leaders to take root.
“Panchayat elections had not taken place since 2000 and Block Development Council and District Development Council polls had never taken place… After 2014, I tried to bring forth the young leadership, holding panchayat polls in 2018, BDC elections in 2019, and DDC in 2020. The reason for holding these elections was to take democracy to the grassroots so that the youth could take charge,” Modi said.
Continuing his tirade against the Congress, NC and the PDP, he said these parties never wanted the youth to join politics but “we challenged their intentions and the result was that 30,000 to 35,000 youngsters got elected (in the local body elections) and took control of J&K”.
In the years under the BJP government, the prime minister said, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a “new phase of development” and the credit for that goes to these elected youth. “I salute them for their contribution,” he added.
“This assembly election is between three families and the youth. On one side, there are those three families and on the other, my daughters and sisters who are driven by their dreams.
“The Congress, NC and PDP have done nothing short of a sin as these three families are responsible for destroying J&K. They encouraged corruption and land-grabbers and deprived the people of their rights and facilities. They gave government jobs to only those linked to them, besides preparing the ground for separatism and terrorism,” the prime minister alleged.
He said terrorism is taking its last breath in Jammu and Kashmir.
“In the last 10 years, the change witnessed in J&K is nothing short of a dream come true. The stone which used to be thrown at police and the Army is now being utilised for building a new Jammu and Kashmir… This was not done by Modi but by the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said the BJP gave ticket to terror victim Shagun Parihar to reflect the party’s “determination” to wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP candidates fighting elections from eight assembly segments in Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts were present on the dais along with other senior leaders of the party, including Union Minister Jitendra Singh and working president Satpaul Sharma.
Shagun Parihar (29), whose father Ajit Parihar and uncle Anil Parihar were shot dead by terrorists in November 2018, is fighting elections from the Kishtwar constituency. Gajay Singh (Doda), Shakti Raj Parihar (Doda West), Taraq Hussain Keen (Inderwal), Shagun Parihar (Kishtwar), Rakesh Singh Thakur (Ramban), Sunil Sharma (Padder-Nagseni) and Daleep Singh (Bhaderwah) and Mohd Saleem Bhat (Banihal) were the other candidates present.
“Shagun is sitting on the dias whose father and uncle were killed by terrorists. The BJP gave a ticket to this daughter, a terror victim. She is not only a candidate but is a living picture of our determination to root out terrorism (from Jammu and Kashmir),” PM Modi said.
He said the BJP wants to make Jammu and Kashmir “free of terrorism and heaven for tourists”.
“I am reminded of the old days, especially Bhaderwah where shooting for films was hit after the eruption of terrorism as film-makers stopped coming to this place. After 10 years of hard work we are not only seeking to bring back film-makers of our country to this place, but also we are working in the direction to pave the way for international film-makers to come here.
“A new film policy has already been framed and Jammu and Kashmir will once again come on the silver screen,” PM Modi said.
He said lakhs of holiday-makers have started coming to the valley where new hotels are coming up. “We will further boost tourism and improve connectivity,” he said.
Asking people to go through the NC-Congress manifesto and the BJP’s poll promises, PM Modi said, “You should know what they are saying and what its outcome will be. The NC, Congress and PDP are talking of the restoration of Article 370.
“What does it mean to you? It implies that the three families will take away your reservations, deprive those who have been given voting rights after decades of wait, and also snatch the rights of daughters and sisters by bringing back Article 35A.
“If their manifesto gets implemented, schools will start burning again, stones will be back in children’s hands, strikes will affect the business, the youth will be jobless. Do you want them to bring those frightening days back?”
Modi is the first prime minister to visit Doda in more than four decades for election campaigning. (With PTI Inputs)
Trains to reach Srinagar ‘very soon’: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday promised to connect unlinked areas of Jammu and Kashmir through the railway network, announcing that trains will soon reach the Kashmir valley.
Addressing an election rally in the Doda district in support of BJP candidates earlier in the day, Modi said work on the railway line between Srinagar and Ramban is complete and the trial runs have begun.
“We are working to connect the unlinked areas of Jammu and Kashmir through rail. Soon, the people of Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, and Kashmir will be able to travel directly to Delhi by train. I will fulfill your dream,” Modi said at the rally.
“Very soon, trains will run to Srinagar through Ramban. The work on the railway line is complete, the station is ready, and trials have already begun,” he added.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project nearing completion is set to establish a direct link between Kashmir and the rest of the country. Of the total 272 km of the USBRL project, 161 km has already been commissioned in phases.
The first phase, the 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section, was commissioned in October 2009, followed by the 18-km Banihal-Qazigund stretch in June 2013, and the 25-km Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.
The 48.1-km Banihal-Sangaldan section of the USBRL project, one of India’s most ambitious rail projects, was dedicated to the public by Modi in Jammu on February 20.
Several inspections of the tracks and stations were conducted in June and July this year.
The Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS), DC Deshwal, also inspected the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section, which includes the world’s highest steel arch rail bridge over the Chenab River and several major tunnels.
Given the strategic importance of the USBRL in providing seamless and uninterrupted connectivity to Kashmir, the project was declared a “National Project” in 2002.
Congress India’s ‘most dishonest’ party, manipulates polls to come to power: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress was the country’s “most dishonest party” led by a corrupt dynasty and manipulates elections to come to power.
Hitting the campaign trail in support of BJP candidates in the Doda district of poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir, Modi also expressed concern over the alleged beating of an Indian journalist by Congress workers in the US.
“Does such treatment of an Indian journalist reflect well on India’s dignity?
“Congress is India’s most dishonest party. Congress’s royal family is India’s biggest corrupt dynasty. You have to remain vigilant against them. They use all methods of dishonesty to win elections in a bid to come to power,” Modi said at the rally.
“I warned the people of this country about their (Congress) designs but I was mocked… Today, everyone can see what’s happening in the Congress-ruled states where their governments, in a very short period of rule, have created troubles for the people,” Modi said.
Modi said the Congress made “false promises” to come to power and cited the example of Himachal Pradesh.
“Congress made false promises to the people in a bid to get votes in Himachal Pradesh. Now, they have destroyed the state. No development is taking place, employees are not getting salaries, and the youth are not getting jobs,” he said.
Referring to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks in Srinagar that BJP leaders would have been in jail had the opposition INDIA bloc won 20 more seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Modi said that was the only agenda of the opposition party.
“Their ideology and vision have become clear through the statements of their president… Do you want to come to power to send us to jail or to work for the welfare of the people? Is this your only agenda?” he said.
The people of the country have chosen us in 2014, 2019, and 2024 for the welfare of the people, not to send opposition leaders to jail.
“We run the government to remove corruption and provide the best facilities to the poor people. As they (Congress) don’t have a positive vision, their only agenda is to send opposition leaders to jail. He (Kharge) should have talked about the welfare of the people of J&K but instead highlighted his jail agenda,” he said.
Modi said the Congress has an “agenda of hate”.
“Jammu has also been a victim of their hate. The Congress and the NC have always discriminated against Jammu. They made the worst remarks against Maharaja Hari Singh and other kings,” he said.
“They talk about the Constitution but sow seeds of division… they display boards of love while nurturing hatred,” he said.
Modi said a media person from India was locked in a room and beaten on the soil of the US, accusing the Congress of lowering the country’s dignity.
“I read in the newspapers today that an Indian journalist, while in America, faced severe mistreatment… Independent media is a pillar of a vibrant democracy. Does such treatment of a journalist reflect well on India’s dignity?” Modi said.
The television journalist alleged that he was assaulted by Congress workers in Dallas when he asked Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda if Rahul Gandhi would raise the issue of Hindus being attacked in Bangladesh during his meeting with US lawmakers.
