Monitor News Bureau
New Delhi, Sep 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said there are no restrictions in the Kashmir Valley now and that the entire world has supported the move to abrogate the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
Shah also said that Jammu and Kashmir will be the most developed region in the country in the next 5-7 years because of the bold step taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5.
The Home Minister also criticised the opposition for spreading “misinformation” about restrictions in the valley
“Where are the restrictions? It is only in your mind. There are no restrictions. Only misinformation about restrictions is being spread,” he said addressing a seminar on national security.
The home minister said out of the 196 police stations in Kashmir, curfew was lifted everywhere, and only in eight police stations areas CrPC 144 was imposed where five or more persons cannot gather.
Referring to the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly, Shah said all world leaders have supported India’s move on Article 370.
“All world leaders had gathered for seven days (in New York). Not a single leader has raised the issue (of Jammu and Kashmir). This is a big diplomatic victory of the Prime Minister,” he said.
The home minister said 41,800 people have lost their lives in the decades-old militancy in Jammu and Kashmir but no one has raised the issue of human rights violation of soldiers, their widows or the children who were orphaned.
“But people are trying to create a hue and cry over lack of mobile connections for few days.Lack of phone connection is not human rights violation,” he said.
Shah also said 10,000 new landline connections were given in Jammu and Kashmir while 6,000 PCOs have also come up in the last two months.
“The decision on Article 370 will strengthen the unity and integrity of India,” he said.
‘Going to UN for Kashmir was blunder’:Holding the Congress party squarely responsible for the present-day Kashmir dispute, Amit Shah slammed the critics for questioning the Narendra Modi government’s August 5 move to abrogate Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Blaming first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the crisis, Shah said going to the UN for the Kashmir issue was a “blunder”. He said Article 370 went on for years “due to wrong promotion”.
“First of all, going to UN for Kashmir was a blunder. And secondly, the selection of the charter was wrong. Instead of choosing charter 35, the government should have opted for charter 51,” the BJP president said in a packed auditorium. He was speaking at an event organised by IndraprasthVishwaSamvad Kendra here.
Elaborating further on his claims, Shah said: “Charter 35 made it a conflict between two nations, while charter 51 would have helped us put the case of a foreign nation occupying our land.”
He also alleged that Kashmir’s history has been moulded to hide the truth. “It is because the people writing the history were the ones who had created problems in Kashmir,” he said.
Shah reminding the audience how Sardar Patel ensured 630 ”riyasats” joined India after Independence, except for Jammu and Kashmir that was handled by Nehru.
Training his guns on the first Prime Minister, Shah said: “When Indian armed forces were on the verge of defeating Pakistani army and militants during Independence, Nehru called off the fight. This led to a major chunk of Jammu and Kashmir getting into hands of Pakistan.” (With inputs from IANS)
