BJP Dares Congress To Announce it Would Restore Art 370, As Oppn Demands J&K Statehood.

The BJP on Monday dared the Congress to announce that it would restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir if it comes to power.

Intervening in the debate on budget for Jammu and Kashmir in the Lower House, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh said that the Modi government was allocating 63 per cent of the budget to the Union Territory to deal with the legacy of the Congress regime.

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“Does the Congress party have the courage to say that it will restore Article 370 after coming to power…You don’t say that. You want to beat about the bush and want to have it both ways,” he said.

The minister said that Article 370, which was abrogated by the Modi government, had prevented the implementation of welfare measures like the prohibition of child marriages, prevention of corruption, anti-dowry legislation, right to information and SC/ST reservation.

He wanted to know if the Congress had left ‘Ram Raj” in Kashmir that the opposition party was accusing the Modi government of “attempting to destroy”.

Singh asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a new political culture by honouring Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose and B R Ambedkar and “Congress is now searching for icons”.

The fact that Congress leaders are joining the BJP indicates that the ruling party was on the right path, he said, adding “we are doing what the Congress promised to do but did not do because of political reasons.” No political party can oppose the implementation of the welfare measures after the abrogation of Article 370, he said.

Referring to industrialisation in Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said that more than Rs 50,000 crore have been invested by large industrial houses in the Union Territory.

Admitting that unemployment continues to be a problem, he said that the government was focusing on providing livelihood to the people as it was impossible for any dispensation to provide government employment to everyone.

On the law and order situation, Singh said there was a drastic fall in the number of infiltrations attempts by terrorists in the last couple of years. Only four such attempts were reported in the current financial year as compared to 489 before the Modi government came into power in 2014.

Opposition Demands Restoration Of J&K Statehood.

The Congress, TMC and other parties on Monday alleged in Lok Sabha that the government has not been able to achieve the objectives it set out while abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and demanded the early restoration of statehood.

Opposition parties also accused the government of not doing enough for the displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
Congress leader Manish Tewari, who initiated the discussion, said that the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir was a cause of concern.

He said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated “extremely noble sentiments” in her budget speech for Jammu and Kashmir but “ground realities are different”.

The Congress MP said that when the government abrogated Article 370 and divided Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, it put forward two arguments – that Kashmir’s merging with India will be strengthened as the state will be emotionally integrated, and the development there would be speeded up.

“Today 33 months have passed. Has the government been successful in achieving those objectives? I would like to state that the answer is no,” he said, arguing that the situation is more sensitive than it was in 2019 while citing figures of ceasefire violations.

“Since April 2020, the situation in eastern Ladakh has been extremely sensitive. The Chinese army is occupying those lands which India considers its own.
“The situation has become more complex now since 2020 because of factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Imran Khan’s visit to Moscow, the agreement between Russia and China on February 4. All this impacts the border areas of India,” he said.

The Congress leader urged the government to seriously consider the question whether the steps taken in 2019 have strengthened India’s position in the border areas or its concerns have increased.

Tewari said it was a matter of concern that the involvement of locals in militancy is going up.

He said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have stated in the House that a decision on Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood will be taken soon, it has not been done.

“Now we are in March 2022, but I want to ask when the government will act on the statements of the prime minister and home minister and when will Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood be restored,” he asked.

Tewari also flagged concerns of political parties over the delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Underlining that the interest of the Sikh community should be safeguarded, Tewari said they should be given representation in the legislature.