Srinagar, Sep 1 (IANS) Union Minister and BJP’s election in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir G Kishan Reddy has said that Article 370 represented Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s constitution. The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, removed it and implemented Baba Saheb’s constitution.
Addressing a public meeting in support of BJP candidate Arvind Gupta in Jammu West Assembly constituency on Saturday, Reddy said, We removed Jinnah’s Constitution – Article 370 and implemented Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb’s Constitution.
The Union minister also condemned the National Conference’s recent promises to restore Article 370 and called it a “dangerous” conspiracy to empower terrorists with the return of the dual flag.
He argued that the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserved strengthening of local bodies like Panchayati Raj Institutions and Municipal Corporations. He urged voters to choose prosperity over dynastic politics. “This election is a movement aimed at ensuring that no party like NC, Congress or People’s Democratic Party (PDP) can ever take away the rights of the common people in Jammu and Kashmir,” Reddy said.
BJP Jammu and Kashmir election in-charge said that our vision reflects the legacy of Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who sought to save the region from dynastic rule and divisive politics.
He claimed that under the leadership of the BJP, militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is nearing its end, and the region is entering a phase of peace and prosperity. He described the upcoming assembly election as a “movement” for the restoration of dignity of women, West Pakistani refugees, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Paharis, Valmiki Samaj and all residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Union Minister said the world is now focusing on Jammu and Kashmir as India demonstrates how peace, development and democracy are taking roots in the region.
Let us tell you that elections will be held in three phases for the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Voting will be held in three phases on 18 September, 25 September and 1 October, while the counting of votes will take place on 8 October. This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir since 2014, as Article 370 was repealed in 2019. Assembly elections have not been held in Jammu and Kashmir since then. In the last assembly elections, BJP had won 25 seats.
—IANS
SM/KR