J& K truly connected to India after removal of Art 370: Anurag

Jammu, April 16: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur, said on Tuesday that Articles 370 and 35A were the mistakes of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Congress, due to which the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir was hampered.

"PM Modi has corrected their mistakes. We conducted Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Today there has been a 75 percent reduction in the incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, and stone pelting has stopped," said Thakur, addressing public meetings at Parade Ground Jammu and Gulabgarh Stadium in Kishtwar he appealed to vote in favour of BJP.

Civilian deaths have decreased by 81 percent and security personnel deaths have decreased by 50 percent, he said, adding that be it the six- lane highway from Jammu to Katra, IIT, IIM, or AIIMS hospital, along with 11 medical colleges or Kendriya Vidyalaya, today all the big projects have come up in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Due to the new industrial package, big industries are also coming here, and new opportunities of employment and self- employment are becoming available for the youth here," he said, adding that in Jammu today, family- based parties have stopped the development of Jammu and Kashmir, whereas PM Modi has given new wings to the aspirations

of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"There is immense enthusiasm about the elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Like the rest of the country, the lotus will bloom here too because the people of the INDI Alliance divide the country in the name of caste, religion, region, and language, and we unite them," he stated.

In view of his election programmes, Thakur said that Kishtwar and Udhampur are getting the opportunity to vote fi rst in the entire country, and the enthusiasm of the people here shows that the lotus is sure to bloom from here.

He said, “The development of Jammu and Kashmir was stopped by the dynastic parties, whereas Modi has given new wings to the development of Jammu and Kashmir."

"Today, after the removal of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir is actually moving forward by joining India. Last year, more than 2 crore and 10 lakh tourists came to Jammu and Kashmir. In the coming years, this fi gure will cross 3 crores," said Thakur.

Describing Omar Abdullah's call of Bharatiya Janata Party as an anti- Muslim party in Jammu and Kashmir as baseless, Thakur said, "The work of these dynastic parties is only to spread lies, confusion, and corruption. I would like to tell Omar Abdullah that CAA is a law to give citizenship, not to take it. These include people who came to India before 2014 and had to face persecution on the basis of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Some people are spreading this misconception that if Modi comes, Muslims will be eliminated."

"Everyone saw that Modi has worked in the spirit of Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas and has done the work of giving the rights of the GurjarBakarwal community in Jammu and Kashmir, which Congress has not given for 70 years. Paddar of Kishtwar was declared a tribal area by the Modi government, whose widespread benefi ts are being seen here."

Thakur said that under the leadership of PM Modi, our government has worked in the last 10 years with the basic mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas.

"We opened the Kartarpur Corridor, which was abandoned since the time of Nehru, made the ropeway reach Hemkund Sahib, celebrated the 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Teg Bahadur Singh, and celebrated the 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak. Along with this, other religions were also given the freedom to follow their worship methods," he added.