‘PM committed to strengthen grassroots democracy in J&K’
Avtar Bhat
KATHUA, Aug 16: Reiterating that terrorism is in its “last phase” in Kashmir, Union Minister, with independent charge of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh today said there is a visible change in the thinking and mindset of people in Valley which witnessed large-scale Independence Day celebrations yesterday.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of a high-efficiency oxygen generation plant at Government Medical College (GMC), established through the PM-Cares Fund here, today, Dr Jitendra Singh said: “There is a sea change in the thinking of the people in Kashmir Valley. The residents of Srinagar who are moving around in lanes and by-lanes want a change and be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s New India like the people in other parts of the country,”. Click here to watch video
The Union Minister, who dedicated the oxygen plant to the public, however, said there is a “veil of fear” which is stopping the public from expressing themselves openly.
“I feel it is the last phase of terrorism there,” Dr Jitendra Singh said, responding to a question about the large scale Independence Day celebrations in the Valley where Flag hoisting ceremonies were held at many places on Sunday.
Referring to the setting up of the fourth oxygen plant at GMC Kathua within a short span during the Coronavirus pandemic, the Minister said the Prime Minister has a special concern for Jammu and Kashmir, especially the district of Kathua.
The BJP Government set up District Development Councils (DDC) for the first time and completed the elections to Panchayats in the past two years despite “hurdles”, the Minister said while referring apparently to regional parties including National Conference and PDP which boycotted the Panchayat elections besides the local bodies polls.
Asked about the developments in Afghanistan, the Union Minister said the “External Affairs Ministry is taking note of such things”.
“I am not supposed to comment on the issue but the concerned ministry has taken note of the happenings there,” he said.
The Minister reached Kathua, which falls in his home constituency of Udhampur and attended several functions in the district.
Maintaining that Prime Minister is committed to strengthen grassroots democracy in J&K, Dr Jitendra Singh said that Union Government has already taken various steps in this regard.
Later, speaking at a series of programmes during his visit to Kathua, the Union Minister said, the consistency, conviction and commitment with which Prime Minister, places Jammu & Kashmir on a high priority is reflected in the fact that even during his Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort on Sunday, he referred to Jammu & Kashmir more than once. The Prime Minister not only mentioned the delimitation exercise currently underway but also referred to the plans of holding election to the Legislative Assembly in the times to come, he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, right from the first day, when he took over as Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi has made it clear that he would bring all the peripheral regions of the country like Jammu & Kashmir and North East at par with the rest of the country. The passion and intensity with which he has worked towards this goal is borne out by the fact that in order to ensure the elections of Panchayats in Jammu & Kashmir, the Prime Minister not only demonstrated an uncompromising determination but later also made history by holding the first-ever District Development Council election in Jammu & Kashmir, he said.
Today not only Jammu & Kashmir is on the fast track of development in the last few years, said Dr Jitendra Singh, but a conscious effort has been made to ensure that there is equitable development of every region. This, he said, was also mentioned by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address on Sunday, while referring to Jammu & Kashmir.
While earlier, the Minister said, there often used to be complaints of discrimination in allocation of funds and projects to Jammu region, today, on the contrary, many of the projects which were sanctioned simultaneously for both the regions have progressed faster in Jammu region because of the peculiar circumstances in the Kashmir region. In this respect, he referred to AIIMS in Jammu where second batch of MBBS has started, while in Kashmir, it is yet to take off and similarly, the first phase of Ring Road is already dedicated to public in Jammu, while in Kashmir region the Ring Road project is yet to take off.
Dr Jitendra Singh referred to North India’s the first-ever Biotech Industrial Park set up in Kathua, which is going to become functional in next few months while , he said, the Department of Space and ISRO have set up first-ever academic Department of Space Technology and Research at Central University, Jammu.
During the day-long visit, Dr Jitendra Singh also visited Government Medical College, Kathua, where he inaugurated the newly set up Oxygen Plant under PM Cares and also inspected the facilities at the Vaccination Centre. He also contributed a portable Ultrasonography machine to the hospital from his MP fund.
Dr Jitendra Singh also visited an outlet at Hatli Morh set up for providing free ration to the needy under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), where he provided free bags from his personal resources to the beneficiaries. He said, it is the vision of PM Modi because of which not a single citizen of India was allowed to go to sleep hungry and free ration is being provided to the needy across the country.
Dr Jitendra Singh also convened a joint meeting of the district administration, the DDC and prominent citizens at Kathua, where he reviewed the progress of various ongoing works and also called for close interaction and integration between the administration and the citizens.
Later in the evening, Dr Jitendra Singh handed over trophies to the winners of the Girls Cricket Tournament, which was organized at his initiative as Member of Parliament.
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