PrintFriendlyAs a country and as a family, you and us, together we took a historic decision. A system which denied due rights to our brothers and sisters of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh; a system which was huge hurdle in their development has now been eradicated.
A dream which Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had, a dream which Babasaheb Ambedkar had, the dream shared by Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Atalji and crores of citizens, has now been fulfilled.A new age has begun in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh.
Now the rights and accountabilities of all the citizens of the country are similar. I congratulate the people Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh and each and every citizen of the country.
Friends,
Sometimes some things of the social life get so entangled with time that they are considered to be permanent. A sentiment of complacency develops and it is thought that nothing is ever going to change. A similar sentiment prevailed for Article 370.
Because of this there was no debate or talk about the damage done to our brothers and sisters, our children in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh. Astonishingly, nobody was able to list the benefits that Article 370 delivered to the people of Jammu-Kashmir.
Brothers and sisters,
Article 370 and 35A has given nothing but secessionism, terrorism, nepotism and widespread corruption on a large scale to Jammu-Kashmir. Both these articles were used as a weapon by Pakistan to flare up the emotions of some people. Due to this more than 42,000 people lost their lives in the last three decades. The development in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh could not be done on levels which the region deserved. After the removal of this flaw in the system, the people of Jammu-Kashmir will not only have a better present but a bright future ahead.
Friends,
Whichever government is in power, it works for the betterment of the country by enacting laws in the Parliament. No matter which party or coalition is in power, this work never stops.
There is a lot of debate both inside and outside the Parliament when laws are enacted and made, a lot of debate and brainstorming occurs and serious arguments are put up over its importance and effect. The laws that are enacted after undergoing this process are beneficial for people of the nation. However, it’s unfathomable that so many laws are enacted in the Parliament and not enacted in a particular region of the country. Even previous governments who were hailed after enacting just one law couldn’t claim that the same law will be implemented in the Jammu & Kashmir region.More than 1.5 crore people of Jammu & Kashmir were deprived of the benefits of laws that were enacted for the benefit of the people of India. Imagine children in rest of the country have a right to education while children in Jammu & Kashmir were deprived of this right. The daughters of Jammu & Kashmir were deprived of the right that our daughters had in rest of the states. In all the other states, Safai Karamchari Act was enacted for hygiene workers but the workers of Jammu & Kashmir were deprived of this. In other states, strict laws were enacted to stop atrocities on Dalits but no such laws could be implemented in Jammu & Kashmir. To protect the rights of blue-collar workforce, Minimum Wages Act was enacted and implemented in all the other states while such a law is only found on papers in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. In all other states, (our) brothers and sisters from Scheduled Tribes got reservation while contesting elections while such thing is unheard of in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Friends,
I am fully confident that, following abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A, Jammu and Kashmir would soon come out of its negative effects.
Friends and sisters,
In the new system, the priority of the central government would be to keep state government employees and Jammu and Kashmir police personnel at par with the state government employees and police personnel of other states in terms of facilities.
In Union Territories, the government provides many such financial facilities like LTC, House Rend Allowance, Education Allowance for children, Health Schemes etc., most of which are not provided to the employees of Jammu and Kashmir government. Such facilities would soon be provided to the employees of Jammu and Kashmir government and state police personnel following a review.
Friends, very soon the process to fill in the vacancies of central and state government will be initiated in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.This would provide adequate employment opportunities to the local youth. Besides, public sector units of the central government and big private sector companies would also be encouraged to provide new employment opportunities.Apart from the above, Army and para military forces would organize rallies to recruit local youths.The government would also expand Prime Ministers Scholarship Scheme so that more and more students can get its benefit.Jammu and Kashmir also has huge revenue loss. The central government will ensure to minimize its impact.
Brothers and sisters, after abrogation of Article 370, the central government has decided to keep the state of Jammu and Kashmir under its administration after putting in a lot of thought process in it. It is essential for you to understand the reasons behind the decision. Ever since the state has been under governor’s rule, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir is directly under the central government.As a result the good effect of Good Governance and Development have been observed on the ground.The schemes which earlier remained only in files, have been implemented on ground.Projects pending from decades have been speeded up.
We have tried to bring transparency and a new work culture in the Jammu and Kashmir administration. As a result, be it IIT, IIM, AIIMS, various irrigation projects or power projects or the Anti-Corruption Bureau, we have been able to fasten up the work on these projects. Besides, be it the projects of connectivity, roads or new rail lines, modernization of the airport, everything is being accelerated.