New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday promised reservation for Gujjars, Bakarwals and the Pahari community in Jammu and Kashmir and said this was possible after the abrogation of Article 370 in the Union Territory.
At a rally in Rajouri, shah said: “Would it have been possible to get tribal reservation if Articles 370 and 35A were not removed? With their removal, minorities, Dalits, tribals and Paharis will get their rights.”
He also said: “Today’s rally in Jammu and Kashmir, the slogans of ‘Modi, Modi’… are answers for those who used to say that if Article 370 was removed, there would be fires here, rivers of blood would flow.”
He also called out the opposition, stating that three families had undermined democracy for three generations. “For 70 years, Jammu and Kashmir was ruled by three families and democracy was built only within these families. Did you ever get the right of gram panchayat, tehsil panchayat and zilla panchayat?”
He said the region had seen panchayat elections under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after 2014.
He also said violence, especially stone-hurling, was on the wane in the Valley. “Modiji has worked to empower the youth of Jammu and Kashmir,” the BJP leader said.
Shah, who is on a three-day visit to the Union Territory, will launch several developmental projects and take stock of security measures at a meeting in Srinagar on Wednesday morning. The high-level meeting will be attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, top officials of the Army, paramilitary forces, the state police and civil administration will attend the high-level meeting.
Shah will address a meeting in Baramullah at noon before concluding his visit in the afternoon with the announcement of more projects.
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