Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be held soon and plans are underway to restore its statehood.Modi in his first visit to Kashmir after becoming Prime Minister for the third consecutive term, emphasised the importance of enabling the people of J&K to elect their representatives for the Assembly.The PM arrived here this evening and was welcomed with Kashmiri traditional wanwun (songs) and showering of flower petals at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). He was given traditional Kashmiri Kani Shawl and a paper machie souvenir.In his address at a gathering at SKICC ‘Empowering Youth, Transforming J&K’, Modi commended the people for their active participation in the Lok Sabha elections and expressed the need for them to choose their local leaders through upcoming Assembly elections.“The people of Jammu and Kashmir participated in Lok Sabha elections in large numbers and broke the record of the past 35 years. You deserve to be felicitated for it… Now time has come that people of Jammu and Kashmir chose their own local representatives. For that, preparations are being made for holding Assembly elections,” he said.The PM assured the people that the day was approaching when J&K would regain its statehood status. He lauded the role of the people of J&K in this strengthening of democracy. “I wanted to thank the people of Kashmir for reposing great faith in democracy,” he said.“We are witnessing Atal’s vision of Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat aur Kashmiriyat, turning into a reality today”, he said.Mentioning the record voter turnout in the recent elections, Modi praised the trust of the people in democracy. “I have come to express my thanks for your efforts for keeping the flag of democracy high”, he said.Taking a jibe at the INDIA bloc including Congress, the PM said that it was unfortunate that the opposition didn’t even utter a word of praise for the people of J & K for their record participation in LS polls.He said that since early morning, he was quite enthusiastic about visiting Kashmir even though he has an old connection with the Valley and its people. “Today, it was about J&K’s development initiatives and successful Lok Sabha polls that saw record participation of people after almost 35-40 years. I wish I could visit every place of Kashmir to thank people for their huge participation in LS Polls,” the PM said.He said that he was in Italy recently and there is a great impression of the Government that has come to power for the third straight time in India. “People reposing great faith and trust in a Government for the third time creates a global impression and strengthens global relations,” he said.
Today, the mood and the aspirations of Indian youth and people are all time high. When aspirations are high, people’s expectations from the Government also become high. There is an aspirational society whose single parameter is performance,” he added.
Modi said that the performance doesn’t come through social media of speeches. “Nation saw our performance and today, the same Government is at the Centre for the third time,” he said.
“People’s aspirations can be fulfilled by the NDA Government. People trust our policies and vision. Aspirational society wants results on a fast-track basis. Will see, will do, wait some time are old words now. People want the day’s results by evening.”
The PM said that after 60 years, people of India choose a Government for the third term to serve them. “This election has sent a message to the world about stability. There was a time when five elections were held in ten years,” he said.
Modi said that so far 40,000 people have been appointed in Government services and today, he distributed 2000 more job letters to the youth. “Today, I inaugurated developmental projects worth Rs 1500 Crore and further Rs 1800 cr worth Agriculture and allied sectors related projects,” he said.
The PM said that he spent time while interacting with the young start-ups at SKICC and he was excited to listen to the vision and mission of youngsters, who have quit studies mid-way to come up with great innovative ideas. “I interacted with start-ups who have a vast range of ideas and talent. They are moving ahead with the ideas of Ayurveda start-ups, skill development, home stays, food units etc,” he said.Modi said that Kashmir is progressing at a great speed as there are Expressways, Highways and rail connectivity connecting Kashmir with the Kanyakumari soon. “We have the world’s largest rail bridge over river Chenab,” he said.He said that J&K’s new generation is moving ahead with great ideas and initiatives. “In the trial for the country’s drone Didi’s, J&K women were there as well. In the Khelo India games festival held in Kashmir in February, there were 800 athletes from the rest of the country too. There are 70 start ups from the Agriculture sector alone who want to showcase Agricultural capacity at the global level,” he said.The PM condemned those seeking to disrupt the peace and development in the region, affirming the Government’s commitment to thwart such attempts.
