Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Jan 25 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday said that hartals, organised stone protests and stone pelting have ended and infrastructure building, smooth schooling and development is touching new heights in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that stones have been replaced with the laptops in the hands of J&K youth.
Addressing a gathering in Jammu virtually from New Delhi after e-inaugurating the 100 E-buses for Jammuites, Shah, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that J&K is witnessing a new dawn of peace, prosperity and development.
“Today, with the active support of J&K youth. Hartals, organised protests and stone pelting are the things of the past. J&K is witnessing huge infrastructure building, smooth schooling and development,” the Home Minister said.
He said in J&K jobs were being given with active support of political leaders but gone are the days when “ministers would give slips to give jobs to youth.” “Today, such slips have been replaced by exam papers and recruitment is taking place in a transparent manner,” Shah said.
For the J&K politicians who used to say that nothing will change in J&K if Article 370 goes, there is a 70 per cent decline in terrorism, 81 per cent dip in civilian killings, and 48 per cent fall in killings of security forces in J&K, the Home Minister said.
He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendera Modi, Panchayat Raj System established in J&K and at present delimitation is being conducted to ensure proper reservation to the left out sections.
The Home Minister said that there was zero stone pelting incident in 2020 in J&K while organised protests have also ended. “In 2010, 112 people were killed in stone pelting and in 2020, the figure is zero,” he said.
Shah said that they have tightened the noose on terror financing and the properties of terrorists and their supporters are being sealed. “Many terrorist outfits are being banned,” he said. “Today, youth of J&K have replaced the stones with laptops and J&K is enjoying the peace dividends and is on the path of peace and prosperity.”—(KNO)
