Union home minister Amit Shah will inaugurate several development projects in Srinagar on Monday in the last leg of his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
He is visiting J&K for the first since the revocation of Article 370 and 35A in August 2019.
On Sunday, Shah, while interacting with members of youth clubs at Raj Bhawan here, said that 70% of the population in J&K is of youth and “they are shaping the present and building the golden future of Union Territory as we speak”.
“With the establishment of 4,500 youth clubs in Jammu & Kashmir, the government has included the young generation in the development process so they can actively participate in designing the path to transforming the entire community,” he said.
“Only youth can be the agents of change in any sphere of life and without their participation, transformation is not possible. The events of stone pelting, terrorism, violence have been replaced by the youth of the same Jammu & Kashmir, who are focused on development, employment, scholarship, skill development. People themselves can see how much change has happened,” the Home Minister said.
Shah also inaugurated the new campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Jammu on the second day of his visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. The new campus of IIT Jammu, built at a cost of Rs. 210 crore, provides all facilities like good hostels, a gymnasium and indoor games along with higher education to students. Amit Shah also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects for Jammu and Kashmir.
“On August 5, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a historic decision, ended Articles 370 and 35A which were in effect for many years and lakhs of citizens of Jammu and Kashmir received their rights. Earlier people did not have the right to buy land, refugees did not have rights, people did not get reservations. But, now no one has to fear, because all the rights under the Indian Constitution are available to everyone,” he said.
Shah also visited the forward areas of the Makwal border and interacted with the soldiers and local population. He was accompanied by J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.
On Saturday, Amit Shah met the families of civilians and soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir who were killed by militants in a series of targeted killings in October. As many as 11 civilians, a majority of who belonged to other states, have been killed this month.
Shah also met the family of slain Jammu and Kashmir Police inspector Parvez Ahmad, who was killed by militants in June this year. Shah said that the entire country is proud of Ahmad’s bravery and offered a government job to the policeman’s wife.
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