PM Modi promises a beautiful future for the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

In a historic move on 6th August, the Lok Sabha passed the bill to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two different Union Territories. This was after the parliament ratified the resolution to revoke Article 370 of the constitution. The citizens are extremely overjoyed at this momentous occasion, and the leaders are clearly echoing their sentiments.

PM Modi, who had been silent until now as far as the discussions on Article 370 went, decided to break his silence today by addressing the nation. He did not beat about the bush and started talking about Article 370 of the Constitution of India straightaway. At the outset, he stated that a historic decision has been taken. He also stated that due to a particular arrangement, the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh were deprived of certain rights which created a hindrance in their development. Now, that hindrance has been removed.

PM Modi also went on to mention that dreams of statesmen like Sardar Patel, BR Ambedkar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been fulfilled. He said that it was shocking that no one was able to explain how Article 370 benefitted the people of Jammu & Kashmir. He minced no words and made it clear that Article 370 and Article 35A only led to evils like terrorism, secessionism, nepotism and corruption. PM Modi who addressed the nation frankly on this issue also said that the two provisions were used by Pakistan in order to incite a section of people against the nation. He also expressed pain and sorrow towards how 42,000 people had to sacrifice their lives in the last three decades. He made it clear that this had removed obstacles in the development of the country. He also spoke about how because of Article 370, equal rights were not given to daughters in Jammu & Kashmir, sanitation workers were not given equal rights unlike other states. He also gave the example of how laws relating to minority rights were not applicable in the state.

He also said that in the new arrangement that has been created, the government employees in the region, including the Jammu & Kashmir Police, get the same allowances and benefits as in other Union Territories. He made it clear that the government employees of Jammu & Kashmir were deprived of a majority of these benefits. Speaking about his vision and roadmap for the region, he said that all vacant government posts will be filled. All Central Public Sector Undertakings and Private Companies will be encouraged to provide job opportunities in the region. He also mentioned that the Army and the Para-military forces will organise rallies for recruitment of local people. Moreover, scholarship benefits will also be extended to a majority of the students. He also said that fiscal deficit in the region will also be brought in control by the Central government. He further emphasised that the region has been made a Union Territory for the time being. He underlined that Jammu & Kashmir has been made a Union Territory only for the time being after giving it a lot of thought. He said, “The reason is important to understand. Ever since Governor Rule has been implemented there, good governance and development has been seen on the ground. The schemes that were once only on paper, have now been implemented.”

He also went onto mention that it is shocking that in a country like India, where the roots of democracy are pretty strong, lakhs of people who were victims of the 1947 partition were deprived of voting rights in the Panchayat polls and legislative assembly polls only in Jammu & Kashmir. Assuring the people of Jammu & Kashmir, he said that the representatives of the residents of the region will be chosen by the people of the region only. They will come from the residents of the region only. He made it clear that administrative business would continue as usual. Just like Home Minister Amit Shah, he made it clear that the Union Territory status of Jammu & Kashmir will not be permanent. However, the Union Territory status of Ladakh will stay in force. The Prime Minister also said that elections in Jammu & Kashmir would be held soon.

Taking a jibe at nepotism in Jammu & Kashmir, he said that decades of such nepotism did not allow the youth of Kashmir to enjoy leadership opportunities. He expressed confidence in Kashmiri youth to take the region to new heights of development. He also spoke about the tourism potential of Kashmir and Ladakh. He also said that necessary steps are being taken by the government in that direction and he urged the countrymen to play their part in realising the tourism potential of the region.

Finally he made it clear that it is only natural in a democracy that some people are in favour of this decision while others are criticising it. The Prime Minister said that he respects such differences. However, he urged the critics to keep the “national interest” paramount. Taking the people of Jammu & Kashmir into confidence, Prime Minister Modi said that every countryman shares the concern of people of Jammu & Kashmir. He made it clear, “their happiness, sorrow and their suffering are no different from us.” He iterated that Kashmiri brothers have welcomed the abolition of Article 370 and it is only a handful of people, supported by Pakistan, who are trying to disrupt peace. He expressed confidence that the people of Kashmir will stand up to such people.

Prior to this, he had tweeted on the Indian victory.

Several other union leaders have echoed the Prime Minister’s thoughts. The prime of those is Home Minister Amit Shah, who had introduced the resolution and the bill to bifurcate the state in the Rajya Sabha. During his momentous speech in the parliament, he stated “More than 41,400 people have been killed due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir; whose policy responsible for the deaths?” “Article 370 was a temporary provision; how long can a temporary provision be allowed to continue” “After abrogation of Article 370, J&K will truly become integral part of India.” “We will make Jammu and Kashmir the most developed state.”

Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman said in the parliament, “It is something the country has been waiting for the last 70 years. Even our manifesto mentioned the need to abrogate #Article370, so it is not something we brought out suddenly like a rabbit from a magic hat.”

Late BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj’s last tweet was, “Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime.”

Union Cabinet Minister for Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani also sent a flurry of tweets, lauding the government’s efforts in achieving the milestone.

National General Secretary of BJP, Ram Madhav remembered Dr Shyam Prasad Mukharjee on the occasion.

Rajya Sabha MP and esteemed advocate, Arun Jaitley tweeted.

Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, BJP MP from Ladakh stated, “I welcome the Bill on behalf of everyone in Ladakh. People there wanted the region to be a Union Territory. People in Ladakh wanted that the region be freed from the dominance & discrimination of Kashmir, that is happening today.”

The revocation of Article 370 has been a long standing demand of the Indian populace and has been one of the ideas of BJP’s ideology. BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee dedicated his life towards the abrogation of this exclusionary article. With the decision so early in the second term, PM Modi has made the historic move possible. 

History has been made with this decision. Since the past 70 years, the centre was unable to integrate Jammu and Kashmir which had been isolated and under developed. The country is finally independent and together.