Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 19 criticised the Congress-National Conference alliance in Jammu and Kashmir saying that Pakistan was celebrating points in their manifesto for the assembly elections. He was addressing a rally at Katra Vaishno Devi assembly segment which has been newly carved out after the recent delimitation. Modi said: “The Congress-National Conference alliance is being applauded in Pakistan. Pakistan is very happy with their manifesto and has openly extended its support.”
He was alluding to the Pakistan Federal Defence Minister Khwaja Asif’s remarks that Pakistan and NC-Congress alliance were on one page regarding restoration of Article 370 and 35-A. Asif was talking to Geo TV journalist Hamid Mir in an interview wherein he said that the National Conference wanted to bring back these articles. He also said that this was a deep wound inflicted by Modi government on the people of J&K.
Going a step further, Asif hoped that the NC-Congress alliance will win a majority in these assembly elections and form the government in Jammu & Kashmir. This may lead to restoration of the articles which were abrogated on August 5, 2019, he hoped. However, it needs to be pointed out here that the prerogative of making an amendment to the Indian Constitution is not the domain of any state or UT (a constituent unit). The right to amend the Constitution belongs solely to the Union government which is presently headed by PM Modi.
It also bears mention here that for carrying out a constitutional amendment like abrogation of Article 370 needs two-thirds majority in Parliament. At present, mustering that much support for the BJP may be difficult with 240 MPs. In 2019, it had 303 MPs and also the main opposition party, the Congress, had only 52 MPs in the Lok Sabha. The Congress is in alliance with the NC but it has not spoken on the issue of bringing back Article 35-A and 370.
“Pakistan’s Defence Minister has openly come out in support of the Congress-National Conference alliance. He says their agenda is the same as that of Pakistan… Congress and National Conference want to implement Pakistan’s agenda here in Jammu and Kashmir,” PM Modi said.
“Nobody is giving them (Congress and National Conference) any importance here. But in Pakistan, inki balle balle ho rahi hai (they are being celebrated),” he added.
Earlier in the day, he addressed a well attended rally at Srinagar. He had visited Srinagar twice earlier this year in March and June. In the “new Jammu & Kashmir’’, there is all-round development and peace prevails, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Srinagar earlier in the day. He was addressing a huge crowd comprising youth, elderly as also women. The PM stressed that he and his party were committed to the betterment of the region.
“Jammu and Kashmir will again become a state, and the BJP will fulfill this promise. To achieve this and ensure lasting peace, you must come out and vote in the second phase of elections to break all records,” Modi said, tackling the question of statehood which is being raised time and again by the National Conference (NC) and the Congress.
He lauded the high percentage of voting in the first phase of polling on Wednesday as a milestone for democracy. “Yesterday, for the first time without terrorist threats, voting happened peacefully,” he noted. “In Kishtwar, 80 per cent voting was recorded, and in other districts, the turnout broke records. This is Naya Kashmir, and the credit goes to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
This change was significant, he said, adding it “shows that the people of J&K have high aspirations’’. Modi criticized the dominance of three families, the Congress, National Conference (NC), and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), accusing them harming the region. “These three families are responsible for Kashmir’s problems,” he said.
“They gave stones to the youth for their own gains. But J&K is now moving towards peace and employment. This is my guarantee to you,” Modi said. “Now, the youth no longer hold stones in their hands; they have laptops and books. I want the youth to be literate and have employment opportunities here.”
He enumerated some improvements in educational infrastructure, such as engineering colleges and more medical seats. “The youth of J&K are not vulnerable but strong now,” he declared. “The three families who claimed to uphold ‘Jamhooriyat’ and ‘Kashmiriyat’ only destroyed it. But we have given a chance to everyone who believes in democracy.”
