Bhat Sahil
Srinagar, 8 Sep (KB): Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed confidence that under BJP rule, Jammu and Kashmir will become the top state in India within the next decade.
Addresing a rally at Ramban Rajnath Singh as per news agency Kashmir Bulletin said, “I say with confidence that if the BJP government runs here for 10 years, our Jammu and Kashmir will become the number one state of India,” Singh stated. Highlighting India’s rapid economic growth, he added, “Our India, which was at the 11th place in the world in terms of the size of the economy, has reached the 5th place today.
By 2027, our India will stand at third place among the countries of the world in terms of the size of the economy, he said.
While responding to remarks by National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on the execution of Afzal Guru, Singh said, “heard that National Conference leader Omar Abdullah sahab has said that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged, should he have been garlanded publicly?” he questioned, while criticizing Omar’s stance.
He further claimed that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would prefer to be part of India due to the region’s development. “Form a government here too, seeing the development here, the people of PoK will say that we do not want to stay with Pakistan, we want to go with India…we consider the people of PoK as our own, come and join us.”
Rejecting any possibility of restoring Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a move the National Conference and Congress have pledged in their manifesto. “No one has the courage to restore Article 370. Jammu and Kashmir, which was earlier known as a terrorism spot, has now become a tourism hotspot,” he declared. He emphasized the transformation in the region, saying, “Earlier, many youths in the Kashmir Valley used to have pistols and revolvers in their hands. Go and see the change today, they do not have pistols and revolvers in their hands, instead you will see laptops and computers. This is a huge change, Rajnath said.
“As long as the Bharatiya Janata Party remains in India, no one can restore Article 370,” he added.
Noting that there has been no stone-pelting incident since 2022. Singh also assured that the ongoing border fencing work would be completed soon,l. (KB)
