Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 4: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devender Singh Rana today stated that August 5 is synonymous to the Jammu and Kashmir’s transformation, peace, and normalcy.
Describing this day (August 5) as a watershed moment in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, he said the people, especially the marginalized, neglected, and dejected, are feeling a sense of fulfillment while entering into the fifth year of their real independence from the shackles of exploitation and discrimination by seat of political class that treated the erstwhile state as their fiefdom.
“The eve of the abrogation of Article 370 stands shining testimony of transformed Jammu and Kashmir with development taking centre stage and people enjoying equal opportunities of progress irrespective of region, religion, caste or ethnicity”, Rana said while interacting with deputations, delegations and individuals along with Veenu Khanna, BJP State Secretary here at the party Headquarters today.
He said the Union Territory has been witnessing the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a progressive and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir being translated on ground zero with a sense of commitment. “The BJP has made possible what everybody perceived impossible years ago and emerged as a harbinger of change in the Union Territory,” he said.
Devender Rana said the biggest take of the Article 370 repeal has been political empowerment of every region and sub-region besides real empowerment of the people like West Pakistan Refugees, Valmikies, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections of the society, who were deprived in the wake of non-implementation of a number of central laws.
“They had been deliberately kept out of the system to enjoy political hegemony by exploiting regional and religious sentiments as per their political convenience,” he added.
Rana also spoke about the record number of tourists visiting Kashmir Valley in view of the drop in the stone pelting incidents in the region.
He also described taking out Muharram procession after 34 years as also Shri Amarnath yatra surpassing previous year’s record during half of the two-month pilgrimage as the best example of normalcy dawning in the Valley.
Referring to the NHFS report that claimed that J&K is leading the country in several developmental criteria, Devender Rana said that the Union Territory has witnessed remarkable transformation over the years.
Quoting statistics, Devender Rana said, J&K has a higher life expectancy rate than the rest of the country.
As per the NHFS, life expectancy in India (national average) is 69.4 years, whereas it is 74 years in J&K, he said.
He further stated that the Union Territory has a superior teacher-pupil ratio at the elementary level of 1:14, while the national average is 1:32.
“The average monthly agricultural household income in India is Rs 10,218; in J&K, it is Rs 18,918, more than Rs 8000 greater than the rest of India. This suggests that farmers in J&K make more money than farmers in the rest of the country,” he said.
In J&K, he added the sex ratio at birth (last 5 years) is 976 girls per 1000 boys, compared to 929 at the national level.
The UT has a per capita energy consumption of 1384 units, which is greater than the national average of 1208 units. Higher education has a gross enrolment ratio (GER) of 32.4 percent in the UT and 27.1 percent nationally, he said.
“Seeing is believing”, he said, adding that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are now witness to the unprecedented development, infrastructural upgradation, massive investment interventions and implementation of various welfare measures to the last person in the society.
Rana gave a clarion call to all the functionaries and workers to intensify their outreach up to the last person for making the BJP a strong and vibrant force to take Jammu and Kashmir to the heights of progress and development.
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