Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union MoS for Science & Technology Jitendra Singh and J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha during the 'Viksit Bharat, Viksit Jammu & Kashmir' programme, in Srinagar, Thursday, March 7, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Srinagar: In his first visit to Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said ‘dil jeetne aaya hoon’ (I have come here to win hearts) as he made an emotional pitch in front of a jam packed Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar.
“Whenever I came here after 2014, I have always said that I am making all these efforts to win your hearts and I am seeing that I have been able to win your hearts. I will keep trying hard. This is Modi's guarantee,” he said while seeking not just to win hearts but understand the aspirations and dreams of Kashmiris.
“I stand here on the pure soil of Jammu and Kashmir and send well wishes to everyone as Ramzan is soon going to commence. In the next five years, J&K will witness a huge change on the developmental front. Nobody can stop the J&K’s train of success, peace and prosperity,” he added.
Modi said there was an era when the people of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of benefits as laws implemented in other parts of the country could not be implemented in the Union Territory due to Article 370.
“When schemes for the welfare of the poor were implemented across the country, our brothers and sisters of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of the benefits. See now, how the times have changed,” he said.
Slamming the Congress party, the PM said, “The Congress was misguiding not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir but the entire nation on Article 370.”
Without naming National Conference and the PDP, he said, “Some families had a chokehold on Kashmir due to which it suffered under parivarvaad and graft for years. Jammu and Kashmir Bank has suffered under parivarvaad and corruption. The Bank was drowning in debt but now we have helped it stay afloat and grow. This was your decision, I am just a watchman.”
While saying that J&K was not just a region, but forehead of India, Modi said, “J&K is the priority of Viksit Bharat. Today, I got the opportunity to inaugurate several development projects. The path to building a developed Jammu and Kashmir will emerge from here.”
After promoting ‘Make in India’ for years, the Prime Minister gave a call for ‘Wed in India’. “People should come to J&K and host their weddings. The world has seen how G20 was organised in J&K. There was a time when people used to say, who will go to J&K for tourism? Today, tourism in J&K is breaking all the records. Now big celebrities from across the world are also coming to J&K.”
Earlier, he distributed appointment letters to nearly 1,000 newly recruited government employees and interacted with the beneficiaries of various central schemes, including women achievers, farmers and entrepreneurs. Modi also unveiled multiple development projects worth more than Rs 6,400 crore.
Due to security reasons several schools falling along the route taken by the Prime Minister were closed for Wednesday and Thursday, while board examinations on Thursday were postponed till next month.