Minister attends ‘Devika Utsav’, visits GMC
Avtar Bhat
UDHAMPUR, Dec 18 : Union Minister of State in PMO with Independent Charge of Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that election dates in Jammu & Kashmir will be decided by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function held at Devika here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said the decision on poll dates is the prerogative of Election Commission and Narendra Modi Government is not interfering in the functioning of Constitutional bodies like the Election Commission (EC).
Responding to a question that Delimitation Commission is going to meet on December 20 and will the Government take a decision on holding of Assembly elections in J&K any time after that, Dr Jitendra Singh said the decision in this regard will be taken by the EC only.
Dr Jitendra Singh, however, said that BJP is ready for elections at any time whether Parliamentary, Assembly or Local Bodies. “We never shy away from elections as our party has true faith and belief in democracy and strengthening of democratic institutions in the country”, he added.
The BJP is always in election mood 24x7x365 and whenever they are announced party will contest without any hesitation, he said.
The Union Minister said “In our commitment towards democracy we as a political party having majority withdrew from power for not compromising on party’s ideology and commitment to democracy though we were not asked to quit”, he said while referring to party’s withdrawal of support to Mehbooba Mufti Government.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that it was our commitment and respect for democracy and its institutions in the country that for the first time over decades the three -tier Panchayati Raj system was made a reality in the J&K by holding Panchayat, BDC and DDC elections thereby empowering the people at grassroots level.
Without naming any political party, he said this was not done by those parties who ruled J&K for decades as they did not want that democratic institutes at grassroots level should be strengthened and common man be empowered instead they were interested in their own dynasties’ empowerment.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the rejuvenation of Devika river will lay foundation of new Sanaskriti in Udhampur and it will change the mindset of the people as well.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that Devika Rejuvenation Project will also create employment avenues for the people and boost trade and commerce. He said already Narendra Modi Government has created many avenues of employment for the youth but regretted that there is no proper awareness among the people about it. He stressed on creating awareness about the employment schemes launched by Modi Government.
He added that new Industrial Estate being set up at Udhampur will not only provide jobs to the local youth but it will also attract youth from other States by providing jobs to them.
Earlier Dr Jitendra Singh visited the Construction site of Government Medical College (GMC), Udhampur which is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 255 crore at Bailli Udhampur.
During his visit, Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized upon the concerned departments dealing with the construction of GMC to start the work without any delay so that the classes could commence from the next academic year onwards.
Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that Udhampur Parliamentary constituency is the only one in the country which has got three Medical Colleges from Central grant.
While attending the grand festive event “Devika Utsav” today which, was held at the banks of river Devika Ghat here in the afternoon, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, river Devika is not merely a project but a matter of faith for all of them. The event was held to celebrate the completion of development works under “River Devika Abatement and Beautification Project” of National River Conservation Plan.
He reiterated that the project of holy Devika does not belong to a particular political party or an individual but it is equally owned by each one of us. Therefore, he said, he had been repeatedly suggesting to the administration to entertain and accommodate inputs and suggestions coming from every person regardless of his ideological belief or political affiliation, as long as these could add value to the project.
Giving full credit to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Devika Project would have never got approval if Modi would not have been the Prime Minister. He further said that when Prime Minister launched the ‘Namami Gange’ project in 2014, a similar thought came to mind to start “River Devika Abatement and Beautification Project” as Devika is considered the elder sister of Ganga.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, there has been delay in the execution of the project, partly because of COVID and partly because of the lapses on the part of the contractor agency which has now been subjected to penalty and also issued a Blacklist warning. He hoped that the remaining work of the project, mainly pertaining to floriculture, beautification and recreation complex, will also be completed soon.
Accusing the early Governments of having deliberately neglected this region because of vote bank consideration, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in the last seven to eight years, several such demands have sought to be addressed which were pending for the last half a century. He cited the example of demand for a Radio Station in Udhampur which was first raised during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 but the Radio Station was set up only four years back by the Modi Government.
Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that Udhampur Parliamentary constituency is the only one in the country which has got three Medical Colleges from Central grant. Similarly, the first two Highway Villages of the country are also coming up in Udhampur and Kathua.
To the critics, who allege that no development in road sector has happened, Dr Jitendra Singh reminded that only last year the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, adjudged district Udhampur as Number One in accomplishing PMGSY road projects. Asia’s longest Road Tunnel at Chenani-Nashri, named after Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, is also located on the outskirts of Udhampur, he added.
In the last few years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, a series of Degree Colleges and Sports Stadiums have been started with Central grants, in and around Udhampur. Many far-flung areas which have never seen motor vehicles are now connected with roads, he said.
Pertinent to mention here that the launching of the Devika Project was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Jammu in February 2019.
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