Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned X BJP He slammed the Modi government for not holding elections in the region and expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation under Modi’s rule.
“Since the ‘one-third’ PM is visiting Jammu and Kashmir for the first time after the Lok Sabha elections, he must answer six questions,” Ramesh wrote on X.com.
The questions raised by the Congress are as follows
- When will Jammu and Kashmir get the status of a full state?
“Since 2018, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been denied any opportunity to express their grievances. The region has become a bureaucratic fiefdom controlled by the BJP-RSS faction. While claiming to end the special status for Jammu and Kashmir, the one-third Prime Minister has in fact created an extra-special situation of a new and unique political dispensation: where the state has been downgraded to a UT, elections have been postponed, and all norms of constitutional morality have been violated. In his speech in Parliament on December 11, 2023, Home Minister Amit Shah said that full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will be restored at an “appropriate time”. Five years after their statehood was stripped, the people of Jammu and Kashmir still do not have clarity on what the timeline is for getting back statehood. Can the one-third Prime Minister give a straight answer to this crucial question: When will Jammu and Kashmir get full statehood back?” - Why is BJP afraid of elections in Jammu and Kashmir?
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been left without an elected government for the last six years. The last assembly elections were held in 2014 and four Rajya Sabha seats are vacant due to the delay in the assembly elections. The term of 4,892 panchayats and 316 block development councils (second and third tiers of panchayati raj) also expired on January 9, 2024. The blame for this suspension of democracy rests entirely on the Centre. As the Chief Election Commissioner made clear in March 2024, the one-third prime minister’s government failed to reconcile its own Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 with its own delimitation exercise, 2022 – thereby preventing the ECI from starting the electoral process. This weaponised incompetence appears to have been deliberate: unable to regain power through legitimate electoral means, the BJP has used this opportunity to control the levers of power for selfish gain. There were multiple allegations by various stakeholders within Jammu and Kashmir that contracts awarded by the government were being given to a person who was not a member of the local … As part of a deliberate policy of discrimination against the people, only a select few have been chosen. The Centre has been forced to hold elections now because of the deadline set by the Supreme Court of September 2024. Can one-third of the people explain the delay in holding elections? Why is he so desperately clinging to power in a state where people never chose to follow his leadership?” - Why has the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir deteriorated under your rule?
“One-third of the Prime Minister claims to have curbed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir in all his public meetings. However, the atmosphere on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir is worrying. Since January 1, 2023, 35 of our brave security personnel and eight innocent civilians have lost their lives in the Pir Panjal range (Rajouri-Poonch region) alone, an area where there were no major incidents of terrorism between 2007 and 2014. In the last few weeks, it has also spread to neighbouring districts that we considered largely peaceful: as evidenced by the attacks in Reasi on June 9, Kathua on June 10 and Doda on June 11. Infiltration from Pakistan across the international border is on the rise and a sense of insecurity clearly prevails in Jammu and Kashmir. One-third of the Prime Minister, who has been busy accepting congratulatory messages, including from the Pakistani PM, is conspicuously silent even amidst this surge in terrorism. Why has his government failed to improve the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir? What is his approach to restoring normalcy?” - Why has the government failed to help Kashmiri Pandits?
“The BJP has exploited the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in every election campaign. However, in the ten years since coming to power, one-third of the Prime Ministers and Home Ministers have done nothing for the community and have not even held a meeting with representatives of the community. In consultation with the community, Dr Manmohan Singh’s government had prepared a package of 6,000 jobs for Kashmiri Pandit youth to take up jobs in the Kashmir Valley. Despite all the claims of the current government, this is the last major intervention by the Central government for the rehabilitation of the Pandit community, while there is a nationwide social and political consensus for the community’s return home. Do one-third of the Prime Ministers see the community only as a negotiating issue? Why have they neglected their interests in the last decade?”
- If the actions of the Central Government are popular, then why are the BJP and its supporters being rejected by the people of Jammu and Kashmir?
When the BJP removed Article 370 with much fanfare in 2019, they repeatedly argued that the move was popular among the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, a third of the prime ministers refused to visit Jammu and Kashmir after 2019, until the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The BJP refused to contest Lok Sabha elections in the Kashmir Valley, instead supporting candidates fielded by its supporters. However, all three supporters performed poorly, getting zero points in the Lok Sabha and gaining a lead in only one assembly constituency. If the central government’s moves are popular, why are the BJP and its supporters being rejected by the people of Jammu and Kashmir?” - How much investment has actually been made in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019?
“When the BJP repealed Article 370 with much fanfare in 2019, they repeatedly argued that the law was an obstacle to “development and progress”. In the three years since the announcement of the new industrial policy in January 2021, the Union Territory has received proposals worth Rs 84,544 crore in 42 industrial areas. To date, only 414 units have been registered and the actual investment on the ground is only Rs 2,518 crore. Though there was a lot of optimism about the hospitality sector, investment proposals worth only Rs 87 crore have been received so far. Apart from J&K Bank, the only large-scale employer in J&K is Chenab Textile Mills (CTM), which came up in J&K in 1962 during Pandit Nehru’s tenure. Having achieved little in the past decade, a third prime minister is back in J&K this time to lay the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 3,300 crore. But before he does so, can he answer: How many jobs has his government created? How many investors from the rest of India have actually invested in J&K since 2019? How many PSUs has the central government set up in J&K? Can a third of the prime ministers inaugurate even a single facility built by their government in J&K?”
Prime Minister Modi Attended ‘Empowering Youth, Bringing Transformation in Jammu and Kashmir’ event in Srinagar
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Srinagar on Thursday evening on a two-day visit, where he will unveil various development projects and attend various programmes. International Yoga Day The function was held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).
On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi will lead the International Yoga Day celebrations at SKICC at around 6.30 am. He will address the attendees and participate in the CYP yoga session.
In addition, PM Modi will launch the Competitiveness Improvement Project in Agriculture and Allied Sectors (JKCIP), worth Rs 1,800 crore. The project will be implemented in 90 blocks of 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, reaching 300,000 families and benefiting 15 lakh individuals.
The Prime Minister will also distribute appointment letters to over 2,000 people recently appointed to government service. The aim of laying the foundation stone, inaugurating and launching these projects is to empower the youth and enhance infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir.
