Appreciates LG Manoj Sinha for successful G20 meet, says it proved peace prevails in Kashmir
STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was peaceful now and the successful hosting of a G20 meeting in Srinagar proved it.
Jammu and Kashmir has accepted the changes effected after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said here on Friday.
He also said those who are only aware of Kashmir’s history in the last 40 years think of it as a disputed territory.
“Jammu and Kashmir has accepted the changes after the abrogation of Article 370,” Shah said addressing the “Vitasta Cultural Festival” here.
“Some people who know Kashmir’s history of only the last 30-40 years think it is a conflict, a disputed territory. It has seen many conflicts in the past. The same Kashmir is celebrating Vitasta,” he added.
Shah said 150 artistes from outside and 1,500 from Jammu and Kashmir are participating in the event.
“There will be cultural exchange,” he noted. The home minister also said those who brought guns to Kashmir were not well-wishers of the people here.
Later, inaugurating or laying foundation stones of various development projects in Kashmir Valley, Shah said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was peaceful now and the successful hosting of a G20 meeting in Srinagar proved it.
He said the development funds used to go into the pockets of a few earlier but now all those deserving are getting the fruits of development.
He said that when it was decided to hold a meeting of the G20 in Srinagar, many people offered various comments and some, including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, made various predictions.
“But all these predictions were proved wrong as the G20 meeting in Srinagar was held successfully,” he said and appreciated the Jammu and Kashmir administration headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for it.
He also said the successful hosting of the G20 meeting would give a big boost to the tourism industry in Kashmir.
The meeting of the G20 tourism working group was held in Kashmir last month.
The Home Minister claimed that during earlier regimes, funds meant for the poor and farmers used to go into the pockets of a few.
“Many in Jammu and Kashmir have big houses in foreign lands and many used to go for 45-60 days’ vacations in foreign countries. Where did this money come from? This was money meant for the poor,” he said.
Now development funds are reaching actual beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer (DBT), he said.
In the last four years, the government built about 1.86 lakh houses for people in Jammu and Kashmir and Rs 23,000 crore was given to beneficiaries of various schemes through DBT.
The home minister also appealed to people to come forward and join hands in the march for development and fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir.