Amit Shah urges J-K youth to become part of mainstream India

Srinagar, Jan 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday said that Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed massive transformation post Article 370 abrogation, and urged youth to become part of mainstream India.

He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of e-buses in Jammu virtually.

Shah said that Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed massive transformation in every sector of life under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who abrogated Article 370 on August 05, 2019 to take J&K to new heights.

"In the past, bullets, stone pelting and strikes were normal in Kashmir but post 370 abrogation the situation has changed. Such things have been replaced by schools, medical colleges, industries etc.," Shah said.

He said a new era of peace and normalcy has started in Jammu & Kashmir with the annulment of Article 370 which was used as a shield by political leaders to cheat common people. "They (politicians) were saying that abrogation of Article 370 won't impact J&K affairs, but today everything has changed. There is a lot of improvement in law-and-order situation. Stone pelting has ended, hartals are over, innocent killings have been contained, development has taken pace, people are living their life in a peaceful way," he said.

The Home Minister praised the measures taken by PM Modi government in Jammu & Kashmir for containing terrorism and channels support terrorism through funds. "PM Modi has done a commendable job. The terror finance channels in J&K have been nailed and properties and other assets of involved are being attached. Further ideological groups supporting terrorism have been banned in J&K, which led a drastic change on ground," said the Home Minister.

He said that J&K has started its journey on the path of peace, prosperity and development, and added "The UT will achieve further miles of peace and prosperity in times to come".

The Home Minister urged youth to enroll themselves in voter list and become part of mainstream India.

Congratulating the aspirants who received appointment letters during the function, the Home Minister Amit Shah urged them to set direction with commitment and determination as ‘you have started a new journey of life’ from today. "Today is your new beginning, so you must realise your duty and set your direction with full commitment and determination accordingly. You have achieved his position by merit," Home Minister added.

While taking a dig at local political leaders for making J&K a hub of corruption in their regimes, Shah said, "Earlier jobs were given through parchi (sufarish) instead of merit, but today there is no room for corruption and you have achieved this milestone through your merit".

He hailed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's efforts in J&K, saying the way he is dealing with the situation and taking efforts to slash down the figure of unemployment, the day is not far when we will be able to complete the backlog figure.

"After 370 abrogation, 34,440 posts were filled in Jammu & Kashmir, out of which 24,000 were of defense, 3900 for civil, 2637 in police, and 2436 in bank", Home Minister said and added, "No corruptive practice was used in filling these posts".

He said J&K government is taking every possible step to contain practices of corruption and in this regard the authorities have kept services online to ensure corruption-free transactions. "Earlier only 60 services were online but today there are over 1100 services who have been kept online to root out corruption practices in government departments," he said.

He hailed J&K government for rolling out e-bus service in Jammu areas and said the service is very much important from many aspects which will benefit common people hugely. "The government has invested 561 Cr rupees for its operations and maintenance for 12 years. Under the leadership of PM Modi, the government has taken tangible eco-friendly steps. India is the country which has opted this measure widely," he said.

Pertinently 100 e-buses have been rolled out during the event for Jammu areas. "The e-bus service will be convenient, cheap and durable for Jammu residents," Shah added.