Modi Keeps His Promises, Right Things Will Happen At Right Time: PM In J&K

SONAMARG, Jan 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that he would keep promises he made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, in an oblique reference to the demand for restoration of statehood voiced strongly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Modi was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a strategic 6.4-km tunnel here connecting Kashmir with Sonamarg and constructed at a cost of Rs 2,700 crore.

Speaking earlier at the function, Abdullah pressed for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as promised by the prime minister before the assembly elections in September last year and said, “My heart believes that you will fulfil this promise soon”.

Without making a direct reference to the issue of statehood, Modi told the gathering, “You have to believe that this is Modi and he keeps his promises.”

“There is a right time for everything and right things will happen at the right time,” he said.

Abdullah, while welcoming Modi, referred to his speech made on International Yoga Day last year and said, “You gave three very important points in your programme. You talked about ‘dil ki duri’ (distance between hearts) and ‘Dilli se duri’ (distance of people of Jammu and Kashmir with Delhi) and said you are trying to eliminate both these things.”

He said it was an honour to have the prime minister inaugurating two important projects in Jammu and Kashmir within a span of 15 days. Last week, Modi virtually inaugurated the Jammu railway division.

“With such projects, not only the distance of the heart but the distance from Delhi is also reduced,” Abdullah said, thanking the PM for staying true to his words.

The chief minister said that people often meet him and ask when Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood would be restored.

“My heart says that very soon, prime minister, you will fulfil your third promise to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. And Jammu and Kashmir will once again get the status of a state,” he said.

Modi said that Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of the country and he wants it to be beautiful and prosperous.

“There is an atmosphere of peace in Jammu and Kashmir and we have seen its effect on tourism. Kashmir is writing a new saga of development today,” he said.

He said the Kashmir valley will soon be connected by train and there is enthusiasm among people about it.

Modi also paid tributes to the seven people who were killed in a terror attack near the tunnel here on October 20 last year.

After inaugurating the project, the prime minister went inside the tunnel and interacted with the project officials. He also met the construction workers who worked meticulously amid harsh conditions to complete the tunnel.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha were also present at the inauguration.

This is Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly elections in September-October last year.

The inauguration of this tunnel will make picturesque Sonamarg accessible to tourists and locals during winter months. The construction of this tunnel was necessary for providing an all-weather road to the Ladakh region because Z-Morh road in Gagangir is prone to avalanches.

The Srinagar-Leh road will be an all-weather road once the Rs 6,800 crore Zojila tunnel is completed. The scheduled date for completion of the Zojila tunnel is 2028. (AGENCIES)