New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said a lot has changed on the ground in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing in development to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
J-K has seen tremendous development after the removal of the special status granted to it under the Article 370, he said.
Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, said the biggest testament of the return of normalcy and peace is the unusual tourist flow in Kashmir Valley. Nearly 2.5 crore tourists visited last year and even this season the Valley is packed with tourists from within and outside the country, and even film shooting has resumed there, he said.
“A lot has changed on the ground in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Prime Minister Modi has brought in tremendous development in the Union territory,” he told PTI here.
The minister said there has been substantial voter turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls held in four out of the total of five seats in J-K.
“It is Prime Minister Modi who created conducive conditions for the opposition parties to hold election rallies in the Kashmir valley, which was something unimaginable till a few years ago,” said Singh, a sitting Lok Sabha member seeking re-election from Udhampur constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that for the last several decades even the National Conference and PDP leaders were coming out for each of the election campaigns surrounded by a huge security cover around them.
“They were afraid of the terror atmosphere around them and had hardly ever dared to hold an open public rally or road show during the election campaign. The result of this was that they would get elected as MLAs and MPs after a heavily guarded limited campaign and a dismal voter turnout.
“This scene is no more visible now in J-K as people have gained faith in Modi’s policies aimed at welfare of all, irrespective of any caste and creed,” Singh added.
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