“Modi thinks big, and what you have seen so far is just the trailer. I have to get busy creating a fresh and shining picture of the new Jammu and Kashmir,” Modi mentioned.
The Prime Minister mentioned a “peaceful day” within the erstwhile state would have made headlines in newspapers up to now. “That situation has changed in Jammu and Kashmir. Vikas bhi ho raha hai, vishvaas bhi badh raha hai (progress and trust are both on the rise). This election is not just to elect a member of Parliament but to elect a strong government. You all know what a strong government can do,” he mentioned.
The previous state was break up into two Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019 and introduced below central rule after Parliament scrapped Article 370.
Jammu and Kashmir has been with out an Meeting for over 5 years now, with the final elections happening in December 2014. The upcoming normal polls would be the first main election within the state after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, other than 2020 district improvement polls.
The Election Fee had final month mentioned that the Meeting elections can be held “right after” the Lok Sabha polls, after the Supreme Courtroom gave the ballot physique a deadline of 30 September, 2024.
“After decades, elections are happening in Jammu and Kashmir without fear of terrorism and threat of cross-border firing,” Modi informed Udhampur crowd, difficult the Opposition, particularly the Congress, to deliver again Article 370 which gave particular standing to the previous state.
“Please trust me, I will get rid of the problems that have plagued Jammu and Kashmir for the past 60 years,” Modi mentioned.
The PM tore into the Congress-led Opposition alliance, INDIA, of which native events the Nationwide Convention (NC) and the Individuals’s Democratic Social gathering (PDP) are key constituents.
“The Congress and INDI alliance do not care about the sentiments of the majority of the people in the country. They enjoy playing with them instead… Congress says Ram Mandir is an election issue for the BJP. I want to tell you that Ram Mandir was never an election issue, nor will it ever be. The struggle for Ram temple was going on even before the birth of the BJP… When foreign invaders destroyed our temples, the people of India fought to save their religious places. The leaders of Congress and its allies lived in big bungalows but when it came to improving the tent of Ram Lalla, they turned their backs.”
Modi mentioned the Congress, NC and PDP wished to take J&Okay again to the previous days. “No one has caused as much damage to Jammu and Kashmir as these family-run parties. Here the political party is of the family, by the family and for the family,” he mentioned.
NC chief Omar Abdullah scoffed at Modi for taking credit score for bringing again elections to the previous state, including. “He has not done a favour for the state. It was the verdict of the Supreme Court. It would have been a favour if the PM had conducted elections before the top court’s ruling. It is now a compulsion for him.”
Abdullah mentioned it was by no means clear why J&Okay’s statehood was taken away within the first place. “What kind of justice is that? They could not even explain that decision properly to the Supreme Court,” he mentioned.
Jammu and Kashmir’s 5 seats — Udhampur, Jammu, Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla — will go to polls from 19 April to twenty Might.