Democracy established at ground level in J&K after Article 370 repeal: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said that democracy had been established in Jammu and Kashmir at the “ground level” since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Hitting out at the Congress party, PM Modi said that the principal opposition party did not take any substantial step to empower Panchayati Raj institutions in India for decades.

Modi made the remarks while addressing the two-day regional Panchayati Raj Council Surajkund Haryana.

“During the Congress’s regime, there were no concrete efforts made to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions. Maximum work was limited to figures and documents. Jammu and Kashmir is the biggest example. In the year 2019, after Article 370 was abrogated, it was for the first time that elections were held there from the gram panchayat (village) level to the zila (district) level, in which, over 33,000 local public representatives have been elected,” Modi said in a virtual address.

“After independence for four decades, Congress did not understand the importance of implementation of the Panchayati Raj systems in villages. In this journey of ‘Amrit Kaal’, we have to keep in mind the experiences of the previous decades,” he said. “Jammu and Kashmir is the biggest example. After the abrogation of Article 370, for the first time, elections from Gram Panchayat to District level were held. For the first time democracy has been established at the grassroots level.”

On the occasion, the PM also said that it was equally important for the districts to develop for a developed India.

“For a developed India, it is necessary to develop your districts. You should think that your district should also be developed by 2047. You can prepare a five year plan for this. What yojanas are important for your district, you should think about that,” he said to the members attending the programme.

The PM said that as representatives of the BJP, they should take the benefits of the Panchayati system to every person.

He also emphasised on the importance of ‘one district one product’.

Talking about the GST collection in districts, Modi said, “If the GST collection is more, then more money will be available for development.”