Assembly polls in J&K soon, plans underway to restore statehood: PM

Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that Assembly elections would be held soon in Jammu and Kashmir and plans are underway to restore statehood to the union territory in the near future.

In his first visit to the valley after becoming the prime minister for the third consecutive term, Modi emphasised the importance of enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to elect their representatives for the Assembly.

In his address at a gathering at SKICC ‘Empowering Youth, Transforming J&K’, he 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.

Furthermore, Modi assured the people that the day was approaching when Jammu and Kashmir would regain its statehood status.

He noted the role of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in this strengthening of democracy.

“We are witnessing Atal ji’s vision of Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat aur Kashmiriyat, turning into a reality today”, he said.

Mentioning the record voter turnout in the recent elections, the prime minister 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. The Supreme Court in a judgement earlier this year had given time till September 30 to the Centre for holding Assembly elections in the union territory. The PM as well as Home Minister Amit Shah have said in Parliament that the government was committed to restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time.

On the recent terror attacks in Jammu region, he condemned those seeking to disrupt the peace and development in the region, affirming the government’s commitment to thwart such attempts.

“The enemies of peace and humanity are not happy with the development in Jammu and Kashmir. There were some terror attacks recently. The Centre has taken the recent terror attacks very seriously. The home minister held a meeting and reviewed the entire mechanism. I want to assure that we will leave no stone unturned to punish the enemies of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.