“We will not let Pakistan’s agenda to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir and no power on the earth can bring back Article 370,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday while addressing a poll rally at the Katra town on the foothills of the Vaishnodevi shrine.
In the morning, the prime minister addressed a rally in Srinagar.
Referring to Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif supporting the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance on the issue of restoration of Article 370 and 35A, he said, “Our neighbours are very excited about their alliance. Pakistan’s defence minister has supported the manifesto of Congress and the National Conference. Pakistan and the Congress-National Conference alliance are on the same page when it comes to Article 370.”
He said Pakistan is doing “balle-balle” (a phrase used in many Punjabi to express a feeling of happiness) in the Congress-NC alliance.
“Congress-NC wants to implement Pakistan’s agenda in J&K. The same agenda of Pakistan which ruined generations in Jammu and Kashmir and caused our bloodshed, these people want to implement the same here again,” he added.
Modi said terrorism and separatism have weakened after abrogation of Article 370. “Each vote given to Congress will implement the manifesto of PDP and NC. They want to bring back Article 370,” he contended.
The Congress-NC alliance is being applauded in Pakistan which is very happy with the Congress-NC manifesto and has openly extended its support.
“Congress is ready to compromise with your culture and heritage for the sake of a few votes. They do not see anything except their votebank that is why they only deepened the divide between Jammu and Kashmir. They have always discriminated against Jammu whereas we have brought Jammu to the mainstream.
“Due to the appeasement politics of Congress, the National Conference, and the PDP, our Kashmiri Hindu and Sikh brothers and sisters have suffered a lot. The BJP has announced special schemes for them,” he said.
Meanwhile, addressing a well attended rally in Srinagar, praised the people of Kashmir for strengthening the Indian democracy. “Today, the world is seeing how the people of Jammu and Kashmir are strengthening the democracy of India and I congratulate the people of Jammu and Kashmir for this,” he said.
Modi’s visit has come ahead of the second phase of polling for 26 assembly seats on 25 September. Many assembly seats of downtown Srinagar and Pir-Panjal region of Jammu will go to polls in the second phase. He appealed to people to break all voting records in the second phase of J&K polls.
Lashing out at the three dynastic families, the Prime Minister said, “They have nothing to show as their achievement but failure; they have only brought destruction to Kashmir.”
Commending the people for having come out in large numbers to cast their vote yesterday during the first phase of polling, Modi said, “Festival of democracy is going on in Jammu and Kashmir, for the first time voting took place without shadow of terror. It is a matter of pride that people voted in large numbers breaking previous records of poll percentage on many seats. A new history has been written by people of Jammu and Kashmir, this shows that aspirations of people have touched new heights.”
Modi said, “We have promised in Parliament that we will restore J&K’s statehood and the BJP government will fulfil this commitment”.
The PM said that the three dynastic families here have “crushed” both democracy and the spirit of Kashmiriyat. Remember what they did in the 1980s! They treated the politics of Jammu and Kashmir as their personal domain. They did not want anyone outside their family to come forward.
“I will not allow another generation of Kashmir to be destroyed by these three families. Therefore, I am wholeheartedly committed to restoring peace here. You can see that schools and colleges across Jammu and Kashmir are running smoothly. Children are holding pens, books, and laptops instead of stones. There are no reports of schools being burnt. Instead, we hear about the establishment of new schools, colleges, AIIMS, medical colleges, and IITs”, he said.
“Political agenda of these three families has been to deprive the people of Jammu and Kashmir of their legitimate rights. They have given only fear and anarchy to Jammu and Kashmir but now Jammu and Kashmir will no longer be in their grip”.
“Now our youth here is challenging them. The youth whom they did not allow to progress have come out against them.