Union Home Minister addressed the Rajya Sabha today after the central government’s historic decision to strip Article 370 and bifurcate the former Jammu and Kashmir into two separate Union Territories.
Addressing the upper house, Amit Shah stated that by stripping the Article 370, the long age of violence and bloodshed in the valley will now come to an end. He added that the resolution for bifurcation and the scrapping of Article 370 will bring a new era of development in the valley.
Shah added that Article 370 was a temporary provision and it was bound to be removed one day but the previous governments never dared to touch it due to fear of losing their vote banks.
Amit Shah added that Article 370 was the reason democracy never bloomed in Jammu and Kashmir while some people with their vested interests kept misusing it to further their own interests. He added that due to Article 37 and section 35A, corruption has been propagating and now it has reached its zenith. These provisions have made poverty and lawlessness take root in the land.
आर्टिकल 370 के कारण जम्मू कश्मीर में कभी भी लोकतंत्र प्रफुल्लित नहीं हुआ।
आर्टिकल 370 और 35A के कारण भ्रष्टाचार फला-फूला, पनपा और चरम सीमा पर पहुंचा।
आर्टिकल 370 और 35A के कारण ही गरीबी घर कर गई: श्री अमित शाह #BharatEkHai pic.twitter.com/5xw1amZdHc
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 5, 2019
The Home Minister stated that certain politicians of Kashmir had made the environment such that no local body elections were being held in the state and government’s money meant to be spent in villages and towns for developmental works never reached there.
He stated that Article 370 had snatched the democratic rights of 40 thousand sarpanch and panchayat members in the state for all these years.
Also read: Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat elections: The mark of a new dawn and perhaps, a new destiny
Amit Shah highlighted the fact that due to the provisions in section 35A, quality educational institutions have not been able to open their schools and colleges in the state and the children in the state had been forced to go far away from their home to receive an education.
He added that over the decades, the government of India has sent thousands of crores of money to Jammu and Kashmir but instead of helping the people in the state, the money has been gulped down by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Article 370 is the reason behind it because it never allowed national anti-corruption laws to be applicable in the state.
भारत सरकार ने हजारों करोड़ रुपये जम्मू और कश्मीर के लिए भेजे, लेकिन वो भ्रष्टाचार की भेंट चढ़ गए, 370 का उपयोग करके वहां भ्रष्टाचार को कंट्रोल करने वाले कानून लागू नहीं होने दिए गए: श्री अमित शाह #BharatEkHai pic.twitter.com/E4Mq5Mf8QK
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 5, 2019
Shah slammed the Congress saying that when the Allahabad HC brought judgement against Indira Gandhi, the then Congress government had brought a proposal and passed it the same day to force the emergency on the nation. But the same party is today opposing the NDA government for the resolution.
Shah stated that the entire Jammu and Kashmir has tremendous potential for tourism. But Article 370 has been stopping tourism and hospitality companies from opening their business in the state, thus keeping its population poor and in the mercy of a handful of politicians and their family members who monopolise all the business in the state.
आर्टिकल 370 के कारण जम्मू और कश्मीर में पर्यटन व्यवसाय से जुड़ी बड़ी कंपनियां नहीं जा सकती।
ये कंपनियां वहां गई तो वहां के लोगों को रोजगार मिलेगा।
बड़ी कंपनियां वहां गईं तो पर्यटन बढ़ेगा।
लेकिन 370 के कारण ये संभव नहीं है: श्री अमित शाह #BharatEkHai
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 5, 2019
Shah also stated that the government of India has brought Ayushman Bharat Yojna to benefit Indians but the Artcielc 370 deprives the people in the state of enjoying its benefits because no healthcare professional wants to go and live there. When a doctor cannot vote, buy a property or own a business in a state why would he want to work there, Shah asked.
जम्मू-कश्मीर में देश का कोई बड़ा डॉक्टर जाकर नहीं रह सकता – @AmitShah @narendramodi @PMOIndia @sudhirchaudhary #KashmirMeinTiranga पर ट्वीट कीजिए
Watch LIVE – https://t.co/m8ZUVd7ffH pic.twitter.com/OBacWYtVv6— Zee News Hindi (@ZeeNewsHindi) August 5, 2019
Shah also slammed the opposition leaders who claim that the scrapping of the article is a threat to the identity, language and culture of Jammu and Kashmir. He asked that all other states in India obey one constitution and one law, which state has lost its own language and culture by opening its doors to business and development?
He further stated that the people who are opposing the government’s proposal send their own children abroad to study and live while encouraging the poor youth from J and K to pick up arms and stone-pelting.
Shah stated that Article 370 has withheld Jammu and Kashmir from enjoying the developments that a modern, inclusive and advanced India has achieved.
