Claiming that abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir was a big achievement, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre had restored political credibility by fulfilling the promise the party had made to the people.

“We had promised to repeal Article 370 that gave specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmir and we fulfilled that promise in our second innings. This shows our faith in restoring political credibility. What we promise we deliver,” Singh said while addressing BJP workers here on Friday.

He said that since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, not a single civilian had been killed while a number of terrorists had been gunned down since then by the security forces.“Our government is trying to restore normalcy in Kashmir and we have succeeded by and large,” he said.

The Defence Minister said that Pakistan, which was making a hue and cry over Kashmir, was losing friends globally “because the world knows the credential of Pakistan and how it has promoted terrorism in the region”.

“The economy of Pakistan is in tatters yet it is supporting terrorism. Recently I attended ASEAN defence ministers’ meet in Bangkok where all the countries were willing to talk to India because they know the credential of our country and its commitment towards wiping out terrorism so that people may live in peace and harmony,” Singh said.He did not spare opposition over their charges of economic slowdown.“The opposition parties are crying wolf about slowdown of Indian economy. One thing we need to realise is that there is a global recession and we are facing its impact. We will get over it and by 2024, India will be 5-trillion dollar economy and will become the fifth economic power of the world,” the Defence Minister said.

Addressing party workers, Singh said that he was ready tolisten to the grievances of the people. “I am just a call away from you. If youhave any problem, call me and I will get back to redress your problem,” hesaid. Singh is on a three-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Lucknow.On Saturday, he will attend the Pension Adalat for defence personnel at AMCHeadquarters.