New Delhi: Taking a dig at National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he wanted to ask the leaders who was responsible for the death of the people when their parties were in power in Jammu and Kashmir. "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," Amit Shah said.
"Under PM Narendra Modi, the noose around terrorism has been tightened," Shah said. He added that under the prime minister's leadership, Jammu and Kashmir has started its journey on the path of progress. He 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 drop in terror acts and stone-pelting almost done away with.
Lashing out at Omar Abdullah, who slammed PM Modi over his White House speech where he spoke about democracy, Amit Shah said it was his grandfather who was responsible for what the former termed as “attack on democracy”.
“We have met to save the country from devastation and to bring democracy back. I and Mehbooba Mufti belong to that part of the country where democracy is murdered...Yesterday in America there were discussions about democracy in the White House. Why does this democracy reach Jammu and Kashmir,” Omar Abdullah said after the opposition’s meeting in Patna earlier in the day.
“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,” he said, adding, “New hotels and taxi permits have been issued and in next five years, there will be three-fold increase in the room capacity to cater to the rising number of tourists.”
Talking about the development projects in Jammu and Kashmir, Amit Shah said a new milestone has been achieved with projects of over Rs 500 crores having been inaugurated which will benefit over 22 lakh people in the Valley.
“Over 100 schools have been upgraded to benefit the children. The dream of PM Modi has been fulfilled and people are now not only realising it but are demanding it too. Every J&K resident, irrespective of social and economic status, is being provided Rs 5 lakh health insurance cover,” Amit Shah said.
The Union minister further said that over 65 lakh people are provided free 5kg ration and over 1.86 lakh have been provided houses in Jammu and Kashmir over the last few years.
(With inputs from Asif Qureshi)