STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Narendra Modi government has laid a strong foundation for the eradication of corruption from the country, while alleging that the previous Congress-led UPA government was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore.
- Shah lays foundation of forensic science laboratory in Samba, inaugurates multiple projects in Jammu
- HM pays obeisance at new Tirupati Balaji temple
- Amit Shah pays floral tributes to Mukherjee at BJP headquarters
Besides the Congress, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also launched a scathing attack on the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and asked who will take responsibility for the death of 42,000 people due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah said a new Jammu and Kashmir is in the making after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019, with a 70-per cent decline in terror acts and stone-pelting almost done away with. “(Narendra) Modi replaced the UPA government, which was involved in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. The prime minister has laid a strong foundation for a corruption-free India,” he said, addressing a public rally here.
“Three families ruled Jammu and Kashmir for decades together and there was no development due to Article 370. As many as 42,000 people died due to terrorism and they are saying we should have kept Article 370 safeguarded,” Shah said.
The Home Minister said he wanted to ask NC president Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti that who is responsible for the death of the 42,000 people because their parties were in power in the erstwhile state at that time.
“Under Modi, the noose around terrorism has been tightened,” he said, adding that under the prime minister’s leadership, Jammu and Kashmir has started its journey on the path of progress.
Shah, who started his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir by paying tributes to BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the party headquarters here, said it was the latter’s sacrifice, motivation and pledge that there is no Article 370 today in Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory has been completely integrated with the country.
“Mookerjee is also credited with connecting West Bengal with India. He resigned as a minister (in 1953 from then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet) to launch his campaign for “ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan nahi chalenge” (there cannot be two sets of law, two chiefs and two symbols in a country) and reached Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Alleging that Mookerjee was killed in Jammu and Kashmir after his arrest for entering the region without a permit, Shah said his soul would be in peace after the abrogation of Article 370.
He also remembered the role of Pt. Prem Nath Dogra in the nationalist struggles in Jammu & Kashmir.
He said India is celebrating nine years of PM Modi’s rule. He said there is not even a single corruption allegation against Modiji in 9 years of governance as it has worked hard to end corruption in the system.
The Modi government has reached every needy person who was neglected for all previous years, while he counted the major development works in J&K undertaken recently. He said that J&K has progressed on the path of development.
Whole J&K population is getting the benefits of Ayushman Gold Card. He mentioned the Tirupati Bala ji temple, which has been opened recently.
He said gone are the days, when the three families would rule and ruin J&K.
Lauding people for turning up in good numbers for the rally despite the scorching heat, the Home Minister said “a new Jammu and Kashmir is in the making under the Modi government”.
Referring to a terror incident and the subsequent reaction of Mufti, he said, “I want to tell Mufti and Abdullah that there has been a 70-per cent drop in terror activities during the nine years of the NDA rule (in Jammu and Kashmir), compared to the previous 10 years of the UPA government.
“Under the 10 years of the UPA government, 7,327 terror incidents took place, whereas the number stands at 2,350 in nine years of the NDA government.”
Shah said 2,056 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power at the Centre from 2004 to 2014, while the number stands at only 377 under the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
The number of separatist-sponsored calls for strikes dropped to 32 after the abrogation of Article 370, while there has been a 90-per cent decline in stone-pelting incidents, he said, adding, “This shows that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is improving and all sections of the society, including the deprived Gujjars and Paharis, are getting their rights and justice.”
Lauding Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and security forces for a successful conduct of a G20 meeting in Srinagar last month, he alleged that some political parties joined Pakistan in opposing the event and added that it has proved to be beneficial in conveying the message that the situation has improved Jammu and Kashmir.
“The tourist footfall in 2022 touched 1.88 crore, which is a record. During the rule of the three families, not even 50 per cent of such an arrival was recorded,” Shah said.
He said 28,000 youngsters have been given government jobs in a transparent manner since 2014, while 51,000 have been provided with self-employment opportunities and 70,000 others linked to the “Mission Youth”.
An industrial package of Rs 28,400 crore has been given to Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP government, the home minister said, adding that the youngsters who had stones in their hands earlier have now been equipped with laptops and they are re-writing their future as also taking care of the country’s future.
“The investment (in Jammu and Kashmir) is growing after the introduction of the industrial policy, the industrial land allotment policy, the private industrial estate development policy, the food processing, handicraft and handloom policy, the new film policy, the tourism homestay and sports policy,” he said.
In his address that lasted for more than 20 minutes, Shah also talked about the successful conduct of the Panchayati Raj Institution polls and said 32,000 panches and sarpanches are taking Jammu and Kashmir forward on the path of progress.
The home minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of several projects prior to his address.
“Today, three projects worth Rs 84 crore — a bone-and-joint hospital at Bakshi Nagar, a grid station and road widening from the Dogra chowk to the K C chowk — were completed, while foundations stones were laid for projects worth Rs 309 crore, including a Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Samba,” he said.
Shah said 97 lakh people have benefitted from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana or the national health protection scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, which is the only part of the country where all the citizens are entitled to its benefits.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is spending an amount of Rs 2 crore on the scheme on a daily basis, which is meant for poor people in other parts of the country, he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday paid obeisance at the newly constructed Tirupati Balaji temple in the Majeen area here, officials said.
Shah arrived here in the morning on a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister first went to the BJP office at Trikutanagar and paid his respects to Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his death anniversary.
After addressing a public rally in the Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, Shah headed for the Tirupati Balaji temple, built in the lower Shivalik range on the outskirts of the city.
Accompanied by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Home Minister offered prayers to Lord Venkateshwara, while the priests chanted shlokas, Thalari Ravi, the PRO of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), told PTI.
Shah and Sinha also partook in the prasadam offered at the temple, Ravi said.
The Home Minister expressed his happiness about visiting the Balaji temple during his stay, he added.
The temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy was inaugurated by Sinha, Union ministers Dr Jitendra Singh and G Kishen Reddy on June 8.
Initially, Shah was scheduled to virtually inaugurate the temple but could not take part in the event due to some indispensable work, Sinha had said during the inauguration event.
While he was at the party office in Trikutanagar on Friday, Shah held discussions with BJP leaders to gather feedback on the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday laid the foundation stone of a central forensic science laboratory in Samba and inaugurated several development projects in Jammu.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, Mayor JMC Rajinder Sharma and others shared the stage with the Union Minister, while he laid the foundation stone for many projects and addressed the mammoth rally.
Addressing an event here, Shah highlighted the progress being made in Jammu and Kashmir under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He listed various projects being implemented in the region.
These include the forensic science laboratory in Samba having a budget of Rs 100 crore, 41 water supply schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission in Ramban and Kishtwar with a combined cost of Rs 157.47 crore, a multi-storey parking facility at the Doda bus stand at a cost of Rs 32.46 crore, a bone and joint hospital in Bakshi Nagar (Rs 40.86 crore), a grid station (Rs 17.77 crore), and the upgradation of the road from Dogra Chowk to KC Chowk with an investment of Rs 25 crore.
Shah also released a book highlighting the achievement of the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Jammu and Kashmir, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is progressing on the path of development, and a new Jammu and Kashmir is taking shape,” he said.
Shah appreciated the initiatives to promote industrial growth and tourism in Jammu and Kashmir through policies on industries, films, homestays and houseboats.
These efforts have resulted in increased investments in the region, accompanied by a continuous rise in tourist footfalls, he said.
He announced the successful distribution of “Golden Health” cards which are benefiting approximately 97 lakh people.
In the past nine years, nine new medical colleges and 15 nursing colleges have been established, significantly expanding medical education, he said.
Additionally, the number of degree colleges and engineering colleges has risen from 96 to 147, with the inclusion of an IIT and an IIM in Jammu.
