By Payal Mehta
BARAMULlA: For the first time after three decades, a Union Minister went to Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir to hold a rally. On October 5, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a rally in Baramulla. Sources said Shah’s rally got a phenomenal response from the people of the district.
As per the sources present in the rally, the highest cheering was witnessed when the Home Minister spoke about the availability of free gas cylinders for women. It is also reported that in the hilly areas of the Union Territory, women registered to get the Ujjwala scheme benefit and got two cylinders instead of one.
“The development of Jammu and Kashmir is the prime agenda of the PM Modi government at the Centre. BJP does not wish to ally with any of the regional players in J-K,” a top BJP source told ANI.
Another source told ANI that, “the briefing given to the security agencies in the region is to ensure complete wipe out of terrorism and its supporters.”
The changing face of Jammu and Kashmir was evident from the fact that crowds turned up in huge numbers and it was a responsive gathering. “The entire gathering of over 40,000 joined in as the Home Minister shouted the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. Something that had never been said here, the source added.
Shah met the family of a slain police officer in Jammu and Kashmir. On the request of the family members, Union Home Minister took a call within seconds to scale a steep hill to pay floral tributes to the actual grave of the officer and meet an old relative.
“That shows what means to the Modi government as far as people of Jammu and Kashmir and the sentiments are concerned,” sources said.
The Election Commission of India has already prepared the electoral roll and is in the process of its corrections which sources said could be completed in the next couple of months as a substantial number of new voters are likely to be added to the J-K voter list.
“The Modi government’s stand remains the same. There will be no talks with Pakistan or Pakistan sympathisers,” the sources further said.
Only time will say whether BJP, which has broken records in several places including the northeast where they did not have any presence at all, is able to repeat the same performance in Jammu and Kashmir when the election will be held eventually. However, the Baramulla rally appears to be like another glass ceiling has been broken.
Talk to Pakistan
Lambasting the National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on their demands that the Centre should talk to Pakistan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that he would prefer to talk to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir rather than talking to the neighbouring country.
Addressing a public meeting here, on the last day of his three-day visit to the Union Territory which would conclude today, Shah launched an unsparing attack on former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. He accused the ‘Gupkar alliance’ of “laying a red carpet” for Pakistani terrorists into the country.
Shah said, “Some people talk about Pakistan here. I want to tell them today, bring the statistics about the number of villages in PoK that have electricity. Electricity has reached every village in our Kashmir. Mufti and company, and Abdullah and sons ruled Kashmir for 70 years, but did not provide 1 lakh houses, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from 2014 till 2022, has given houses to 1 lakh people in J-K.”
“Those who ruled for 70 years here suggest me to talk to Pakistan. I have a clear view, I do not want to talk to Pakistan, I want to talk to the Gujjars, Paharis and Bakarwals in Baramulla. I want to talk to the youth of Kashmir. Think with open eyes and minds, those who spread terrorism, what good have they done to Kashmir?” he said adding that J-K has to join the race with other states which are moving ahead in the country.
“We do not have to follow the path shown by terrorists. I urge you to extend your support to us,” said the Home Minister.
Shah said that the “Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration model” (PAGD) had presented the youth of the region with stones, closed colleges and machine guns in their hands, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s model has brought them education.
PAGD is a political alliance between the six regional parties in J-K formed by Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. The alliance seeks the restoration of Article 370 and statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“There are two models. One of PM Modi which gives employment, peace and brotherhood; and another is the Gupkar model which led to the Pulwama attack. PM Modi made a hospital in Pulwama at an expense of Rs 2,000 crore. The Gupkar model is laying the red carpet for the Pakistani terrorists into the country, whereas the Modi model is implementing an investment of Rs 56,000 crore on the ground giving employment to the youth. Gupkar model placed stones, closed colleges, and machine guns in the hands of the youth. Modi model has IIM, IIT, AIIMS, NIFT, and NEET for the youth. The youth wants education not stones in their hands,” he said.
Shah asked the former chief ministers about the amount that was brought into the region as an investment during their respective tenures.
“I have come today to ask Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti how much investment did you draw in Jammu and Kashmir during the 70-year rule of the three families. How many industries were set up? How many youths were given employment? An investment of merely Rs 15,000 crore was done here in 70 years. PM Modi has brought an investment of Rs 56,000 crore in these three years in the region,” he said.
Shah further accused the “three families” of J-K of being responsible for the killings of the residents of the region by terrorists.
“Has terrorism done any good to anybody in the world? Can the sympathisers of terrorism tell of any such incident? 42,000 people of J-K have been victims of terrorism from 1990 till today. Who is responsible for their deaths? The three families that ruled here were responsible. Terrorism is moving towards extinction,” he said.
Lauding PM Modi for bringing investment into J-K, Shah said that the region which was known to be a “terrorist hotspot” has now become a “tourism hotspot”.
“Earlier, this was a terrorist hotspot, now it’s a tourism hotspot. You (Farooq and Mehbooba) gave stones and guns in the hands of the youth, whereas PM Modi gave laptops and mobiles into their hands by bringing industries here,” Shah said. (ANI)