Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Apr 2: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give hope to the Kashmiri youth about creating ‘New Jammu and Kashmir’ since he is a “courageous” leader, who does whatever he decides even as she thanked the Central Government for providing her all help last summer to bring Kashmir out of morass.
Mehbooba, addressing a public rally here in presence of the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, her Cabinet colleagues and legislators, extended an invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Kashmir.
“The Valley tour operators recently met me and asked me to invite the Prime Minister to Kashmir to give a message to world on peace in Jammu and Kashmir and that it is most safe place for the tourists,” she said.
She thanked Modi for supporting her solidly last year when Kashmir was “crossing a river of fire”, a reference to the five-month-long unrest in Kashmir in 2016..
“Last year was like crossing a river of fire. There is a lot of improvement since then but a lot is still to be done. That cannot be done by my Government alone,” Mehbooba said.
“You are a courageous leader. You do whatever you decide. I have lot of confidence in you,” she said, addressing the Prime Minister amid chants of ‘Modi, Modi’.
Mehbooba said the Central Government deputed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to the Kashmir Valley, who remained in touch with the State Government and helped in restoration of normalcy in the troubled-areas.
Emphasizing that in a democracy, all issues can be settled by dialogue, Mehbooba said to Modi, “show a way to our youth about creating ‘New Jammu and Kashmir’ like ‘New India’.”
Referring to the ‘Chenani-Nashri’ tunnel, she said, “it will not only reduce the physical distance, but also connect the hearts and bring the Valley closer to rest of the country.”
“The Chenani-Nashri tunnel will not only link Jammu and Srinagar more closely but will also link the hearts and bring Jammu and Kashmir close to India,” she asserted.
She recalled the decision of her late father late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to join hands with Modi, saying he was confident that the future of the tie-up would be good for the State.
She had to halt her speech a few times because of the chants of ‘Modi, Modi’.
Mehbooba also congratulated the Prime Minister for his party’s impressive success in recently Uttar Pradesh elections.
She referred to the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) reached between the PDP-BJP coalition Government and hoped that the Centre would help in its implementation. The people of the State were eagerly awaiting for time bound implementation of the Agenda of Alliance, she said.
“The implementation of Agenda of Alliance would not only bring an end to the miseries of the people here but also strengthen their faith in the country’s democratic discourse thereby helping them in rejecting the path of violence and acrimony,” Mehbooba said.
She added that basic objective for the two parties (PDP and BJP) to come together in Jammu and Kashmir was to usher in an era of massive development in the State and taking it out of perennial miseries and problems.
Mehbooba said youth of the State, who have gone through a tough phase of uncertainty and gloom need to be reached out to get Jammu and Kashmir out of the present phase of difficulties and desolations.
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