With the removal of 370, J&K is truly connected to India: Anurag Thakur

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur said in Jammu today that family based parties have stopped the development of Jammu and Kashmir whereas Modi ji has given new wings to the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. There is immense enthusiasm about the elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Like the rest of the country, the lotus will bloom here too because the people of Indi Alliance divide the country in the name of caste, religion, region and language and we unite them.

In view of his election programmes, Shri Anurag Thakur today addressed huge public meetings at Parade Ground and Gulabgarh Stadium in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir and appealed to vote in favor of BJP. Shri Anurag Thakur said that Kishtwar and Udhampur are getting the opportunity to vote first in the entire country and the enthusiasm of the people here shows that the lotus is sure to bloom from here.

Shri Anurag Thakur said that “the development of Jammu and Kashmir was stopped by the dynastic parties whereas Modi ji has given new wings to the development of Jammu and Kashmir. Today, after the removal of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir is actually moving forward by joining India. Last year, more than 2 crore 10 lakh tourists came to Jammu and Kashmir. In the coming years this figure will cross 3 crores. Describing Omar Abdullah's call of Bharatiya Janata Party as an anti-Muslim party in Jammu and Kashmir as baseless, Shri Anurag Thakur said that the work of these dynastic parties is only to spread lies, confusion and corruption. I would like to tell Mr. Omar Abdullah that CAA is a law to give citizenship, not to take it. These include people who came to India before 2014 and had to face persecution on the basis of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Some people were spreading this misconception that if Modi comes, Muslims will be eliminated. Everyone saw that Modi ji has worked in the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. Modi ji has done the work of giving the rights of Gurjar-Bakarwal community in Jammu and Kashmir which Congress has not given for 70 years. Paddar of Kishtwar was declared a tribal area by Modi government, whose widespread benefits are being seen here.

Shri Anurag Thakur said, “Articles 370 and 35A were the mistakes of Nehru ji and Congress due to which the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir was hampered and we lost many of our brave soldiers. Modi ji has corrected their mistakes. We conducted Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Today there has been a 75% reduction in the incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and stone pelting has stopped. Civilian deaths have decreased by 81% and security personnel deaths have decreased by 50%. Be it the six-lane highway from Jammu to Katra, IIT, IIM or AIIMS hospital along with 11 medical colleges or Kendriya Vidyalaya, today all the big projects have come up in Jammu and Kashmir. Due to the new industrial package, big industries are also coming here and new opportunities of employment and self-employment are becoming available for the youth here.

Shri Anurag Thakur said that under the leadership of Modi ji, our government has worked in the last 10 years with the basic mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas. We opened the Kartarpur Corridor which was abandoned since the time of Nehru ji, made the ropeway reach Hemkund Sahib, celebrated the 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Teg Bahadur Singh Ji, celebrated the 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Ji. Along with this, other religions were also given freedom to follow their own worship methods.

Shri Anurag Thakur further said, "Modi ji saved every penny of the country in his 10 years and invested it in the welfare of the poor. During the time of Congress, the agriculture budget was Rs 27000 crore, we increased it to Rs 1 lakh 25 thousand crore.

Before 2014, there were 74 airports in the country, today there are around 150. Earlier there were around 90 lakh kilometers of highways, today there are around 1.50 crore kilometers. Before 2014, there were 3 lakh 20 thousand kilometers of rural roads, today there are 6 lakh 95 thousand kilometers of rural roads. In 2014, there was not even a single train like Vande Bharat, today 41 Vande Bharat trains are running in the country. In 2014 there were 21000 kilometers of electrified trains, today there are 41000 kilometers of electrified trains. In 2014, only five cities had metro, today 20 cities have metro. There were only 7 AIIMS in 2014, today there are 22 AIIMS. There were 384 medical colleges in 2014, today there are more than 700. In 2014 there were 450 universities in the country, today there are more than 1100. India placed the world's largest order of 1000 aircraft till date and with this, India has the highest number of female pilots in the world i.e. 14 percent. Today, more than 10 thousand women are included in the Indian Army. If anyone has given 33% reservation to women from Assembly to Lok Sabha, it is Modi ji who has given it. While G20 was successfully organized in the new India, now we will also prepare to organize Olympics.

Shri Anurag Thakur further told the people that if you make Modi ji the Prime Minister for the third time, we will make the country the third largest economy in the world. During the time of Congress, our defense budget was Rs 3 lakh 70 thousand crores, today it is Rs 6 lakh 8 thousand crores. Today our army has Rafale jets, Tejas aircraft are being built. Today, weapons ranging from BrahMos missile to the latest AK 203 have arrived. During the Congress rule, our soldiers did not even have bullet proof jackets, Modi ji gave more than 2 lakh bullet proof jackets to the army in the first four years after coming to power. Modi ji built War Memorial and Police Memorial in Delhi. Modi ji had said that we will give one rank, one pension. Today, pension worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore has been given to our army brothers.

Shri Anurag Thakur praised the courage of the people of Udhampur for not migrating and staying in Jammu and Kashmir even amidst terrorism and separatism and while talking to the media persons said that the people here are ready to once again bloom the lotus and support Dr. Jitendra Singh and they are determined to make Sunil Sharma ji victorious because they have seen real development in the last 10 years."

In response to a question related to sports schemes in the area, Shri Anurag Thakur said that when we gave tribal status here, built roads, schools, colleges, universities, provided health facilities and fulfilled the age-old demand. We will develop sports here.

Further, in response to the demand for Eklavya Vidyalayas in the region, Shri Anurag Thakur said, "We are building 740 Eklavya Vidyalayas across the country at a cost of Rs 38,000 crore. Thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff will be recruited in it. We celebrated Tribal Pride Day on the birth anniversary of Lord Birsa Munda. It is Modi ji who has given a new identity to tribal identity."