J&K, Ladakh on a new path of vikas, says PM

Greeting the sea of people with chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, Modi said that coming to Haryana felt like homecoming.

“Kaun aaya, kaun aaya ” asked a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, to which an impressive crowd responded with, “Bharat mata ka sher aaya” as two helicopters landed in a field in sector 61, Transport Nagar, Ballabgarh, on Monday. The sloganeering grew louder as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the stage and simultaneously appeared on giant screens that had been placed at various corners of the venue where he addressed a Vijay Sankalp rally.

Greeting the sea of people with chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, Modi said that coming to Haryana felt like homecoming. Outlining the achievements of the BJP in the Centre and state, he said that the party had taken landmark decisions within five months of coming back to power.

“Today, India is taking decisions that no one else could have imagined in the past. I am talking about our decision of Article 370, because of which Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are on a new path of vikas and vishwash,” said Modi.

In August, the Centre revoked Article 370, which granted special status to J&K, and abrogated Article 35A which granted the state legislature the right to determine criteria of residency in the state. The state was divided into two union territories, including Ladakh. Reiterating his challenge to the Opposition, Modi dared them to declare that they would “bring back Article 370 and 35A”.

Modi said that he was impressed by the strides that the state had made in implementation of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. He said that the state was the land of martyrs and the party had implemented One Rank One Pension to give benefits to the retired serviceman of the state. Modi also took digs at the Opposition and said that the Congress had created a hue and cry about Rafale during the Lok Sabha polls, and wanted to halt the delivery of the planes. “They went all out to ensure that Rafale does not come to India, but failed. The lives of our soldiers our important to us,” he said.

Kamla Devi, 44, said that she was ecstatic since this was the first time that she was getting a chance to see Modi. “I didn’t have to travel much, but my friends are coming from far off places to see him. He has taken a good decision for Kashmir. We came to show our support.”