Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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‘Articles 370 and 35A were likechains that kept people tied’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that he wanted to assure the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh that these areas would develop as per their wishes. “For years, intimidation ruled the roost. Let us now give development a chance,” he told Indo-Asian News Service in an interview on completing 75 days of his second stint as Prime Minister, adding that Articles 370 and 35A were “like chains that kept people tied.” The interview touched on various subjects, including the 2019 polls, the government’s anti-corruption agenda and issues related to health and education.
Reparation for injustice
On Jammu and Kashmir and his government’s decision to do away with the special status and carving two Union Territories out of the erstwhile State, he said it was reparation for an injustice. “There was injustice against women and children, ST and SC communities. And, most importantly, the innovative zeal of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh was not harnessed. Now, from BPOs to startups, from food processing to tourism, many industries can avail investment and create opportunities for the local youth,” he said. “Please see the list of people who have opposed the decisions about Kashmir — the usual vested interest groups, political dynasties, those who sympathise with terror and some friends in the Opposition. The people of India, irrespective of what their political preference is, have supported the steps,” he said.
“I have assured people that elections in Jammu and Kashmir will continue and it is the people of these regions only who will represent the larger public. Yes, those who ruled Kashmir thinking it is their divine right to do so will dislike democratisation and peddle incorrect narratives. They do not want a self-made, younger leadership to emerge. These are the same people whose own conduct in the 1987 elections has been suspect.
