No one will be allowed to disrupt Kashmir's development: Amit Shah

Hailing the Modi government's plans to develop Kashmir and integrate it into India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah added that no one would be 'allowed to disrupt' the process of equitable development in Jammu and Kashmir as it was long overdue and much needed. He spoke on the birth anniversary of Prem Nath Dogra, founder of the Praja Parishad, who spearheaded an agitation against Sheikh Abdullah in the 1950s.

"From this land of temples and of Mata Vaishno Devi, which is also the birthplace of Pandit Prem Nath Dogra and the martyrdom of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, I want to say that those bent upon disrupting this era of development are causing disruptions, but rest assured no one will be able to disrupt and stop the pace of development in Jammu and Kashmir," Shah told a public rally in Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu.

Regarding the security situation, Shah said that the number of civilians murdered by militants per year had gone down from an annual average of 208 in the 2004-2014 period to 30 in the 2015-2021 period. Only 234 civilians had lost their lives to violence in this period compared to over 2000 in earlier years he said. Nevertheless the Central government would work to reduce this to zero as it was unacceptable for citizens to lose their lives like this Shah declared.

"We want to create a situation where not a single person gets killed and terrorism is wiped out completely," he said.

Shah had also visited some youth clubs in J&K under the Modi government's plan where 4,500 clubs were created in Kashmir, involving 45,000 youths. While some of them have got jobs, others have been trained in skill upgradation and other ventures, and were serving society, he said. They would also inform the government of shortages of essentials like LPG, electricity etc.

Five lakh new jobs are in the process of being created in Jammu as a result of the new industrial policy announced by the government after the removal of Article 370, Shah said, and investments in the territory would rise to 51,000 crore before the end of 2022. He also snidely remarked that the 'three families' - Congress, NC and PDP - had done little to contribute to the territory but the Modi government had announced a 55,000 crore package for the people as well as increasing their elected representatives to 30,000.