Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said that the three families think that no matter in what way they do it, they want to grab the chair of power in Jammu and Kashmir which they consider their birthright. He was referring to traditional parties JKNC and PDP and the national party Congress.
Speaking at his first assembly election address in J&K inside the fortified Sher-i-Kashmir stadium in heavily secured Srinagar, Modi greeted his audience in somewhat broken Kashmiri.
“Kasher benin chu meon seytya seytha namashkaar. Kya haal chaal chu,” he said.
Modi said that the three families want to deprive Kashmiris of their fundamental rights, and that “it is their agenda from the very start.”
The three families, Modi said, think they shouldn’t be questioned, “but, J&K will not remain in the grab of these families,” said Modi.
“They have only given violence to the people of J&K,” he said as he continued his attack against them.
The youth of J&K, Modi said, is now challenging dynastic politics. “It is the same youth that these parties didn’t allow to move forward,” Modi said.
Talking about Kashmir’s discomposed past, Modi asked his audience if they remember the times when “schools were put on fire, and those who survived didn’t open for a long time, depriving students of their education,” said the Prime Minister.
And the three families were happy to handover stones to the youth of J&K, he said.
“But I won’t let these three families deprive J&K people of their rights anymore,” Modi said.
Modi said that today there is no news of schools being burned.
“Giving you the data of only the last five-years, fifty thousand children were those who had to quit their studies without being at any fault. Modi reinstated these fifty thousand children to schools again,” claimed the Prime Minister.
He said, those who left their studies didn’t fail, but “it was JKNC, PDP, and the Congress that had failed in J&K.”
Recalling Kashmir’s turbulent period again, Modi asked his audience, “Remember what these families did in ‘80’s?”
“The three families considered J&K politics as their family property. They didn’t let anyone else take the stage,” he answered his question assertively.
This is why, Modi said, these families stopped the Panchayat elections from happening as they thought new people would come and replace them.
This resulted in youth losing trust in democracy, Modi said. “They thought whether they would vote or not, power would still remain with these three families.”
Asking for his audience’s involvement, Modi again questioned them about the past, saying, “remember how elections used to take place in the past?”
Everything closed down after evening while door-to-door campaigning was not possible, said Modi.
“Your rights were snatched while they lived in luxury,” said the charismatic leader.
This is the first time, Modi said that the elections in J&K are not being held under the “shadow of terrorism.”
Naming Dargah Hazratbal, Chrar-i-Sharief, Khwaja Sahab’s Shrine, Shankaracharya, and Kheer Bawani mandir, Modi said that during the reign of three families, these places of sanctity weren’t safe either.
“Film shooting was barred, cinemas were locked, while hoisting tricolour in Lal Chowk was equal to playing with fire. However, the picture has changed now,” asserted Modi.
Before, going to Lal Chowk was scary, but today, there is a buzz till late evening, Modi said.
In the markets of Srinagar, “celebrations of Eid and Diwali are both apparent now,” he said.
From shopkeepers to the boatmen, everyone is earning his livelihood with ease now, claimed the Prime Minister.
“This environment, this silence, this peace, who brought it? You brought it, the people of J-K did this work,” Modi said as he asserted it with his index finger in his signature style.
Modi said that in strengthening ‘Kashmiriyat’, Kashmiri Hindus have played a pivotal role. However, the three families subjugated them. “They subjected our Hindu brothers to injustice,” he said.
These three families were hand in glove over the injustices done to Kashmiri Sikhs and Hindus, Modi said.
The Congress, JKNC, and the PDP divided people over the desire to rule, but BJP is here to unite, Modi said.
“They have always sold hate,” Modi said.
In the last 35-years, Modi said, Kashmir remained shut for 3000 days, “means in 35-years, Kashmir was shut for eight-years. But in the last five-years, the valley hasn’t been shut for even eight-hours,” claimed the Prime Minister.
However, after the abrogation of Article-370 on August 5 2019, Kashmir was under curfew for over three-months while the internet was gagged for over 18-months.
“This is because of you,” he said while crediting the people of J&K.
Times have changed now, claimed Modi.
Kashmir is being connected to the rest of the country through rail, every farmer will benefit by exporting his production to the whole country at a lower cost, Modi said.
“New factories, new industries will be established here,” he said.
Today, the world is happily seeing the change in Kashmir, Modi said.
Friends, Modi said, “today development works are getting focused in Kashmir. Playgrounds are being built for children.”
Naming the recently revamped Habba Kadal and Zero Bridge in Srinagar, establishment of Smart Buses, Modi emphasised the developmental works done in J-K in the last five years.
“Chaka chak Polo View market (Buzzing market of Polo View),” referring to the redecorated market, Modi said that these works could have been done in the past as well.
But, the stone and the rock that is now being used to build homes for people, were earlier used to build luxury buildings for some people, Modi said.
JKNC, PDP, and Congress have no work to brag about, but only failures, Modi said.
These families, Modi alleged, want to see schools being put on fire, cinemas being locked up, and businesses being shut again.
These families didn’t give Kashmir anything except failures while BJP is fighting elections with a strong and big dream, Modi said.
The Prime Minister is among the star campaigners for the ruling BJP which is majorly fighting the elections from Hindu-dominated Jammu. The assembly elections in J&K are being held after a gap of ten years.
If voted to power, Modi said BJP will increase farmers’ allowance from Rs 6000 to Rs 10000.
He said, every elderly woman in each family would receive Rs 18000 per annum.
Further promising benefits, Modi while holding the podium with both hands, said that BJP in the centre is working on providing, “electricity free of cost, and uninterrupted to the people of J&K.”
Today, every person can avail health insurance of five-lakh, “but we will increase it to seven-lakh,” Modi said.
Whatever BJP says, it fully accomplishes it, he said.
“We had promised on the floor of the parliament that we will restore J&K’s statehood, and only we are capable of doing that,” Modi said. His remarks on statehood were welcomed by frail cheers from the back row of the audience.
“Today, tourists from all over the world visit here, but the dynastic politicians want to bring back the troubled past. Do you want the old days to come back?” Modi kept asking the audience repeatedly without rendering any answers.
As he reached the end part of his speech, the Prime Minister urged the audience to “break all the voting records on 25th of September, when Srinagar among several other districts is going to polls.
“Would you break the records? Would you write the history? Would you give BJP a chance?” asked Modi.
The candidates of BJP are coming to you for peace and prosperity, Modi said as he called all the candidates over to the stage.
“You grow saffron here, Srinagar is also known for Tulip Garden, BJP’s Lotus will be the icing on cake for it,” Modi said.
“I thank you for coming in numbers here,” he said.
And before leaving the stage, shouted, “Bharat Mata ki Jai” three times.
