Takes jibe at Cong, Kashmiri leaders
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Aug 5: Terming Article 370 as “miscarriage of greatest blunders of post independence history,” Union Minister in PMO with independent charge of North Eastern States, Dr Jitendra Singh today said time has come for redemption of past blunders.
Speaking during the debate in Rajya Sabha today, Dr Jitendra Singh said perhaps it was the will of God almighty that when Narendra Modi will take over as Prime Minister of the country and Amit Shah as Home Minister, they will relieve the people of the State of discrimination and injustice faced by its three generations since independence.
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Taking a jibe at Congress party, Dr Jitendra Singh said he is surprised that why Congress has shown its concern over the abrogation of Article 370. He recalled that former Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru had assured the Lok Sabha when the members expressed their concern over grant of special status to J&K and demanded abrogation of Article 370, that it will wither away with passage of time. “Nehru had said that this Article will go with passage of time while sharing the concern of MPs in the Lok Sabha”, he added.
The Minister said later when Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minster in 1964 and all MPs in Lok Sabha demanded abrogation of Article 370, the then Home Minister, Gulzari Lal Nanda candidly admitted in the House that time has come for abrogation of Article 370. But he demanded some more time to Government to take an appropriate decision in this regard, Dr Jitendra Singh added.
However, he said after that series of blunders were committed by those who were at helm of affairs.
He said people of entire State are today jubilant over the abrogation of Article 370. There are jubilations in Jammu, Ladakh as well as in the streets of Kashmir valley. However, due to the fear psychosis, people in Kashmir don’t openly speak in its favour.
When a member tried to interrupt him saying lift the curfew in Valley, the Minister said the people were even rejoicing the abrogation before imposing of curfew.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that common Kashmiri especially the youth of Valley have already joined the developmental programme of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and as they don’t want to lag behind from other countrymen in this regard.
Without naming any body, the Union Minister lambasted Kashmir leaders saying that those who developed vested interest in turmoil and got 8 to 10 percent votes to become MPs and MLAs over the years only have the problem with the abrogation of Article 370 today.
Dr Jitendra Singh said today “we are part of global world and we have no right to deprive J&K of not being a part of Global World. We have common history, common aspirations, common hopes and common problems but we can’t purchase land there”.
Three generations in past have been punished on this account and Kashmiri youth have already been influenced by Narendra Modi’s development programme and they want to take the advantage of the same, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said even before the debate is complete, August 5 has already gone down in the history of country a day of redemption, resurgence and rejuvenation as the nation waited 70 years for this day to come.
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