New Delhi, Mar 21 (KNO): Reiterating that stone-pelting and shutdown calls by separatists in Kashmir are now a thing of past Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, terrorism-related incidents in J&K have reduced by 70%, and the region has witnessed a new wave of development and investment.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Shah, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) highlighted how the abrogation of Article 370 has brought stability, economic progress, and security to the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
He said that after the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, the government led by PM Modi fulfilled the vision of the framers of the Constitution by removing a temporary provision (Article 370)
Taking a dig at people who ask what has changed after the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K, the Union Home Minister said, “For 34 years, cinema halls remained closed in Kashmir, no Muharram processions were allowed. Now, cinema halls are also open, Muharram processions are also taken out and people are living peacefully.”
Referring to the successful conduct of the G-20 summit in Kashmir, the Home Minister said, “Kashmir hosting G-20 summit put it on the global tourism map.”
The Union Home Minister said that the zero-tolerance policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has yielded significant results. “Prior to 2014, terrorists used to enter Kashmir from the neighbouring country, they used to execute bomb blasts and murders there. There was not one festival which used to be celebrated without any worry. Central Governments had a flexible attitude. They used to be quiet and were scared of speaking...They were worried about their vote bank.”
“ After PM Narendra Modi came to power, we displayed a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism. There were attacks even after we came to power - on Uri and Pulwama...Within 10 days, we entered Pakistan and gave them a reply through airstrike and surgical strike...The zero-tolerance policy against terrorism started there.”
Terming Article 370 as the root cause of all the problems in J&K, Shah said, “Article 370 was the base for separatism in Kashmir. But Article 370 was removed on 5th August 2019. Since then J&K has witnessed a massive change. The law and order situation in J&K has improved significantly and the region has seen massive development.”
Crediting security forces for their role in curbing terrorism Shah said, “I express my gratitude to thousands of State Police and central paramilitary force jawans who made the supreme sacrifice to strengthen the country's internal security as well as its borders,” he said. “Compared to the past, terror incidents have gone down, and people feel safer in the region.”
Shah, according to KNO, also spoke about the broader security challenges that India faces, stating that crime is no longer limited to state boundaries and that the MHA is actively tackling inter-state and multi-state crimes like narcotics, cybercrime, organized crime gangs, and hawala operations.
He said that India has now joined the ranks of Israel and the United States as a country that is always prepared to protect its borders and defense forces. "PM Modi has ensured that India’s security forces act decisively and with strength," he added.
IN 5 YEARS, 40,000 GOVT JOBS WERE PROVIDED IN J&K
Speaking on employment and economic development in J&K, the Union Home Minister revealed that 40,000 government jobs were provided in the Union Territory between 2019 and 2024, along with 1.51 lakh self-employment opportunities.
He said that skilling clubs are now operational, helping youth build careers. “Due to our attractive industrial policy, Rs 12,000 crore investment has already been implemented on the ground, and MoUs worth rupees 1.1 lakh crore have been signed,” he said, indicating strong investor confidence in the region.
HOME MINISTRY WORKS UNDER VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION
Speaking about the responsibilities of the Union Home Ministry, Shah said, “In a way, the Home Ministry works under very difficult situation. The Constitution has given the responsibility of law and order to states. Border security and internal security come under MHA. This is a correct decision. And there is no need to make any changes to this. But when law and order is taken care of by states, after 76 years, there is now a situation when several kinds of crime do not remain limited to state borders, they are both inter-state as well as multi-state -- like narcotics, cybercrime, organised crime gangs, hawala. All these crimes do not take place just within a state. Several crimes are committed in the country even from outside the country. So, keeping all this in view it becomes essential to make changes in MHA.”
“ I say this with pride that in 10 years, PM Narendra Modi made long overdue changes to the MHA at once to ensure national security," he said, as per KNO.
SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT WERE ALWAYS CHALLENGED
The Home Minister said, “When Narendra Modi Government was elected to power in 2014, we received several legacy issues from prior to 2014. The security and development of this country were always challenged due to three main issues. These three issues caused obstruction to the peace of the country, raised questions on the security of the country and obstructed the development pace of the country for almost 4 decades; they also made the country's entire system even laughable many a time.”
Elaborating further, he said, “These three issues were terrorism in J&K, Leftist insurgency which dreamt of Tirupati to Pashupatinath and the Northeast insurgency. If you club all these three issues together, around 92,000 citizens of this country were killed in four decades. For the elimination of these three issues, never was a well-planned effort made. PM Narendra Modi made those efforts after coming to power.”—(KNO)