254 C under review, Modi Govt always supportive of Displaced Persons: Dr Jitendra
STATE TIMES NEWS
Kathua: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has shown to the world that it has the power to hit its targets within and across the border in the aftermath of Uri and Pulwama terror attacks.
The terrorists attacked an army camp in the border town of Uri in September 2016, resulting in the killing of 19 soldiers. A fortnight later, the Indian Army carried out a surgical strike across the border and destroyed launch pads for terrorists.
In February 2019, over 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack on their convoy by the terrorists in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Twelve days after the attack, the Indian Air Force (AIF) destroyed the terrorist camp in Balakote, Pakistan. Addressing an election rally in support of BJP candidate Jitendra Singh here, he said, “Earlier India was considered as a soft state…India has neither attacked any country nor occupied any foreign land which is its character.”
“But when Uri and Pulwama happened, India gave a strong message that we will not touch anyone but if touched by someone we will not leave them,” he added.
Singh, Union Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, is seeking his re-election for the third term from Udhampur parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the first phase on April 19.
“We have the capability and power to hit (our targets) anywhere within and across our borders. The power of India increased in the world (after the surgical strikes),” he said, giving credit to Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.
Referring to the safe evacuation of over 22,500 Indian students in the midst of war between Ukraine and Russia in early 2022, he said the fighting between the two countries stopped for over four hours after Modi established contact with the presidents of the two countries and the US.
“The concerned parents of these students started demanding for the return of their wards from the war-torn country and the government facilitated their safe return (to their homes),” he said.
The senior BJP leader said there is hardly any person in the country who had not benefitted from the government schemes over the last 10 years.
“The corona vaccination was ensured to all citizens without any charge and it was possible only because of the strong leadership,” he said.
Later briefly talking to reporters, the defence minister exuded confidence in winning all the Lok Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir.
He declined a direct answer on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate and said “the case is sub-judice”.
Union Minister and BJP Candidate for Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha constituency Dr Jitendra Singh said that Section 254 C pertaining to Land viz-a-viz displaced persons from Pak Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) is already under government review and Congress party and its allies, with nothing to claim to their credit, are desperately trying to make an issue out of non-issue and confuse the masses on the eve of election.
Speaking at a public rally in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and later addressing a series of public meetings at different locations including Govindsar, Basantpur etc., Dr Jitendra Singh said, there should be absolutely no apprehension or misgiving in this regard, particularly when government has been reiterating in the past also that this Section is under review.
Citing evidence, he said, it was only about six months back, the delegation of PoJK persons met the then Chief Secretary J&K Arun Kumar Mehta who is on record having stated and a report was published in all the newspapers quoting Chief Secretary Metha that the concerns expressed by the PoJK displaced persons were under consideration and the doubts regarding Section 254(C) will be cleared after the matter is reviewed.
He said, most of the PoJK representatives and leaders meeting the government officials from time to time have been candidly conveyed this and this is also the stand of the central government headed by Prime Minister Narenda Modi and the Home Ministry headed by Amit Shah and yet, certain elements are trying to create confusion but their mischievous design will not succeed.
Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled that it was after 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that a Rs. 150 Crore bridge was constructed at Keerian-Gandyal just to cater to about two thousand population out of which around one thousand are PoJK displaced persons.
The question is why the earlier governments headed by Congress did not address this demand, possibly because they did not find much of a vote bank stake here. But under the Modi government, we decided to fulfill the lapses of the past and meet every genuine demand of every section of society including the PoJK displaced persons regardless of vote bank consideration, he said.
Dr. Jitendra said, it hardly needs to be stated or proved because in the last 10 years, the government headed by Prime Minister Modi has walked extra mile to support all the genuine demands of each section of displaced persons, be it the West Pakistan Refugees or PoJK displaced persons or the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community. He said, on the other hand the question is to be answered by the Congress and its allies who ruled over Jammu & Kashmir and at the Centre for more than a half of century but deliberately ignored all these sections of displaced communities because they did not find their vote bank among them.
Dr. Jitendra recalled that it was the government headed by Prime Minister Modi, which gave the Citizenship rights to refugees from Pakistan nearly 70 years after they had settled in Jammu & Kashmir. Even though in today’s time, citizens moving to other countries also get their citizenship rights after a certain number of years and one of the citizens from India has already become Prime Minister of UK. Not only this, he said, even from among the West Pakistan refugees, India got two Prime Ministers namely Inder Kumar Gujral and Dr. Manmohan Singh but ironically if these two great men had chosen to settle in Jammu & Kashmir, they too might have been subject to same hardship as their counterpart here and it was only Prime Minister Modi who gave them equal rights, equal platforms and equal opportunities as any other citizens of India.
Similarly, Dr. Singh said, as far as the displaced persons from PoJK is concerned, it is for the first time that the Modi government decided upon a plan to provide them compensation and financial aid whereas the earlier governments continuously ignored them despite their repeated requests.
He said, not only the displaced PoJK persons living in Jammu & Kashmir but those living outside J&K are also getting their demands and requirements addressed because of a very sensitive and liberal approach adopted by the government under the instructions of Prime Minister Modi.
Even for Kashmiri Pandits, said Dr. Jitendra Singh, during 1990s, when BJP was not in power at the Centre, all kind of assistance including reservation was sought to be provided in some of those States where BJP was in power or shared power and after the Modi government came in 2014, not only the employment packages for them was included but provisions were also made for their safe living in the valley while taking up job there.
‘Beginning of ‘Ram Rajya’ has started in India, nobody can stop it now’
Kathua : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the “Ram Rajya” has started taking roots in the country and nobody can stop it in becoming a reality.
Addressing an election rally in support of Union Minister Jitendra Singh at Basohli in Kathua district, he highlighted the fulfillment of all promises made by the BJP like abrogation of Article 370, construction of the Ram temple and implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said the BJP is not doing politics for formation of the government but for the country which was pulled out from a big trouble caused by the trust deficit between the people and politicians.
Singh assured people that nobody who is an Indian national is going to lose his citizenship after the implementation of the CAA, while the BJP will keep its promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as promised in the party manifesto in the next five years.
He also referred to the banning of triple talaq and said “whether we form the government or not, attack on the dignity and honour of the women is not acceptable to us”.
“I have a feeling that the establishment of Ram Rajya has started in the country and nobody can stop it from becoming a reality.
Ram Rajya means that the people have realisation and awareness towards their duties. There is a problem when people start having a sense of authority,” he said.
Kathua district is part of Udhampur parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the first phase on April 19.
The senior BJP leader said a situation where people are realising their duties is taking shape in the country.
“When those sitting in the government do their duties responsibly, it will slowly create awareness among people as well. We are not doing politics to form the government but for the country,” he said.
Expressing confidence about Jitendra Singh winning from the constituency for the third term with a huge margin, the defence minister appealed to the people to pick up the party’s past manifestoes, since its origin from the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, and see to it that “we have fulfilled all our promises”.
“We finished Article 370 (that provided special status to J&K) to bring it at par with other parts of the country. Opposition parties were talking about construction of the Ram temple since 1984 but it was done by us and our Prime Minister performed its ‘pran pratishtha’ on January 22,” Singh said.
“We implemented the CAA but there are people who are trying to create misgivings but I want to clarify that no Indian citizen is going to lose his citizenship,” he added.
Singh further said, “We have promised implementation of the UCC in the next five years and I wonder why it should not be done.”
“A big trouble has been created in free India due to trust deficit caused by the politicians who used to say something and do something else. This trust deficit between people and politicians was finished by the BJP,” he added.
Referring to the triple talaq, Singh said some people are saying why are you interfering in the religious affairs of others.
“I want to make it clear to them that any woman irrespective of her faith is our mother, sister and daughter. The attack on the dignity and honour of women will not be tolerated. Whether we form a government or not, how can we accept such a thing which will throw her out of her home,” he said.