Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Dec 26: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today called on Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu and discussed the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir, particularly the scenario emerging following the successful and peaceful conduct of the Panchayat and local body elections in the State.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the remarkable feature and possibly the turning point in this election was that there was not a single incident of violence during the elections and there was an overwhelming participation of people in every region of the State, in spite of the threat from separatists and boycott call by so called mainstream political parties in Kashmir. He said, while in Jammu region, the voting was as high as over 80%, in Kashmir Valley also, barring a few pockets, an unexpectedly high voting percentage was observed.
Dr Jitendra Singh also briefed the Vice President about the youth in Kashmir Valley coming out in large numbers to realize their aspirations, notwithstanding the threats of separatists, militants or their sympathizers. A glaring example of this, he said, was that in the recently held written examination for recruitment to Fire Services, there was 100% attendance of aspirant candidates from every part of the State, inspite of the shut-down call given by separatists.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu expressed satisfaction over the successful conduct of the Local Body elections. He also inquired about the progress of the Smart City Project in the State, which he had initiated, during his tenure as the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Development.
The Vice President was also informed about the expediting of the pace of development projects in the State during the Governor’s rule.
Venkaiah Naidu said, he had been keenly watching the events in Jammu & Kashmir and hoped that very soon, the State will return to complete normalcy and move ahead on the road to prosperity.
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