Not a single stone pelted in Kashmir after Article 370 abrogation: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Dec 17: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday said that not a single stone was pelted in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

Concluding the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the 75 years of adoption of the constitution, Shah said, “I have been discussing the issue of Article 370 repeatedly. I don't want to say much. Everyone knows that Congress for 70 years carried this temporary provision like a baby.”

He said: “To get rid of Article 370, we needed a strong heart. And in 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi became PM again, he stuck Article 370 and Article 35 with a single stroke. We were told that a river of blood will flow in Kashmir if Article 370 is abrogated, but forget the river of blood, no one even dared to pelt a single stone.”

The Home Minister said that after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, 35,000 members of the Panchayat got freedom for the first time while 2.11 crore tourists visited Kashmir in a single year.

“The stone pelting stopped. Terror incidents were reduced by 92 percent. Area domination increased. After 33 years, night shows can be seen in a theatre in Kashmir. Gokhla, Pahari, Gurjars, Bakarwal, and Valmikis got reservations,” he said.

Shah said that Tiranga Abhiyan was taken to every house in Kashmir.

“Formula-4 car racing took place in Srinagar. Tiranga can now be seen in Lal Chowk. The world’s highest railway arch is also being built on the Chenab River. The largest and longest transportation tunnel was built. In Kashmir emerged as the best among all the UTs,” he said. “In the 70 years of Article 370, only Rs 12,000 crore investment had come to Kashmir. In 5 years after the abrogation of Article 370, 1,19,000 crores have been invested.”

The Home Minister said that the delegates of G-20 also visited Kashmir.

“In the Amarnath Yatra, 4.50 lakh yatris performed darshan and in the Sardar Devi Temple of Kupwara, for the first time after 600 years, they celebrated Diwali. Yet they say, what happened by removing Article 370?” he said.