| J&K will have CM, Ministers again, will not be UT forever: Modi | | Art 370 has given separatism, terrorism in J&K | |  Agencies
New Delhi, Aug 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday strongly defended his government's decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the provision has not given anything except separatism, corruption and family rule to the state, and Pakistan has used it as a tool to spread terrorism.
In his televised address to the nation, Modi hailed his government's decision to revoke the Article as "historic" and said a new era has begun in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
"The dream of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and crores of Indians has now been fulfiled," he said.
In his address to the nation, PM Modi said that dreams of countless people have now been fulfilled and that the ground situation will gradually ease back to normal, erasing all troubles with people beating down the threat from terrorists and separatists. "Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of our country and we are proud of it. Many sacrifices have been made but people here will rise past terror and separatism now. I congratulate the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh," he said. "The problems of people here were never discussed. No one was able to say how Article 370 benefitted people here. Article 370 did not give anything more than terrorism and corruption. It was used by Pakistan as a weapon. 42,000 innocent people were killed here because of it. The development of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh could not happen at the pace that was deserving."
The Prime Minister said, when some things are there forever, it is presumed that they will never change or go away and Article 370 was something similar. He said, no one was discussing the harm inflicted due to Article 370 on the people of Jammu and Kashmir and nobody could tell the benefits it was providing to the people of this region.
Mr Modi said, in other States of the country, the Minority Act is in force to protect the interests of minorities, but this was not the case in Jammu and Kashmir. He said, likewise, the Minimum Wages Act is in force to protect the interests of workers in other states, but in Jammu and Kashmir it was available only on paper.
The Prime Minister, in a major announcement, says that all government employees in Jammu and Kashmir, including those from the J&K Police, will get the same benefits as government employees in other union territories. He says that very soon, in Jammu and Kashmir, all financial posts will be filled and this will provide jobs to the youth. He adds that PSUs and bigger private companies will also be encouraged to provide jobs.
Kashmir was the preferred destination for Bollywood movies. Now when the situation is normal, people from world over would shoot movies there. The region has the potential to become the world's biggest tourism destination. Filmmaking would provide employment.
People who came to India after 1947 couldn't contest polls in Jammu and Kashmir… they had rights everywhere else, but not in Jammu and Kashmir. With the scrapping of Article 370, rights to those who had migrated will be restored
Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir. People will have a Chief Minister, MLAs and ministers. People of J&K will choose their own representatives.
In Ladakh, a plant called Solo, which is a boon to those living in high altitudes, can be sold worldwide as it has vast medicinal properties.
Jammu and Kashmir didn't develop at the desired pace. The future of the people of J&K and Ladakh will become brighter now. The Parliament's laws will be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Prime Minister stated that sanitation workers come under the sanitation worker act in other states, but workers from Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of it. In many states, strong laws are their to stop atrocities against dalits, but this was not the case in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Modi said, in the new system, it will be the priority of the central government that the employees of the state, the Jammu and Kashmir police, get equal facilities at par with the employees of the other Union Territories and the police.
The Prime Minister said the process of filling the vacant posts of centre and state in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be started soon which will provide employment opportunities to the local youth.
He said Center's public sector units and private sector companies will also be encouraged to provide jobs.
The Prime Minister said the government has tried to bring a new work culture and transparency in the Jammu and Kashmir administration. He said IIT, IIM, AIIMS, all irrigation projects, all power projects and the Anti Corruption Bureau are the results of this effort.
He said, through the new system, the region Jammu and Kashmir will be freed from terrorism and separatism. He said Jammu and Kashmir will be taken to new height of development. |
|
