In his first rally in mountainous Doda on Saturday , Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid out vision of a “ secure and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir” after the conclusion of the upcoming Assembly polls in the Union Territory , in continuation of the work that his government has done for J&K in the last 10 years in pursuit of “ Naya Kashmir” or New Kashmir.
He made it a point to drive home the point that “ the status of statehood will be restored to J&K,” and added it rather with extra emphasis that “ BJP alone can do that, no other party can,” as he attacked three family oriented parties – Congress, National Conference and PDP which have made restoration of statehood a major issue in their manifestoes and proclamations .
Prime Minister while lashing out at these parties for “ befooling the masses” for their promise on the statehood , he declared that BJP alone can do it, implying that only the ruling party at the Centre can deliver on this. This is for a second time in less than three months that he made this declaration . Earlier, on his visit to Srinagar on June 20, on the eve of the celebrations of International Yoga Day , he had declared that the “preparations for the Assembly polls were underway , and after the polls , J&K will get back its statehood status.”
Last week Home Minister Amit Shah had also stated that the BJP government at the Centre alone could deliver on this promise . He had mocked at Congress, NC and PDP for making this commitment in their manifestoes. “ How can they do it, when they have no power to do so. BJP government is in power and it will fulfil its commitment made on the floor of the Parliament at an appropriate time after the polls.”
Modi’s speech in Doda had several important takeaways, including the idea of the restoration of statehood , which somehow has been connected with the promises made at the time of abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. This is read as his sensitivity toward the foremost demand of the people all across J&K who are not happy with the UT status for what used to be a full-fledged state .
On August 5, 2019,while abrogating Article 370, the Union Home Minister had also announced UT status for Ladakh in response to the persistent demand of the people of the cold desert region which could directly connect them and their land with Delhi , separating them from Kashmir . Accordingly, the state was bifurcated, the rest of the state- Jammu region and Kashmir valley were named as UT as well .
It has been pointed out by various quarters , including in private that the statehood is a necessity for J&K. This sentiment is quite high in Jammu region too where various political, social and other groups have listed this demand .
In his 43-minute long speech at Doda which touched on various issues laced with a sharp attack on the three-family oriented families , dwelt on the fears which could become a reality yet again if the Article 370 would be restored . He told the audience that all the rights, including the right to vote conferred on West Pakistan refugees, Valmikis would be snatched and so would be the reservation and ST status granted to Paharis by his government . He painted a very dark picture of such a possibility, while recalling what the state of affairs was before his government came to power in 2014.
Prime Minister, in particular made the mention of discrimination meted out to Jammu region by the erstwhile ruling parties , which he termed as an insult to the whole of Dogra community of the region .The enthusiasm of the crowd s that had come for the rally from far flung areas , showed how the words of PM were taken by the people of the region.
