Remarkable improvement in law and order situation in J&K post Art 370: Rai

Jammu, July 24: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai Wednesday stated that the overall law and order scenario in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had seen remarkable improvement after abrogation of Article 370.

He stated this in response to a supplementary raised by Congress MP Pramod Tiwari in Rajya Sabha.

Giving a detailed account of terrorist-initiated incidents quoting statistics provided by J&K UT, he said that in 2024, up to July 15, 2024, 11 such incidents were recorded. “21 encounters or counter terrorism operations took place during this period wherein 10 security personnel and 14 civilians

were killed,” Rai said. During this period, no incident of organised stone-pelting or organised Hartal was recorded while in 2018 1328 incidents of organised stone pelting and 52 incidents of organised Hartal were registered, he said.

“2018 witnessed 228 terrorist-initiated incidents and 189 encounters, wherein 91 security personnel and 55 civilians were killed while in 2023, 46 terrorist-initiated incidents and 48 encounters took place wherein 30 security personnel and 14 civilians were killed,” he said.

“Post abrogation of Article 370, the UT of J&K has witnessed an era of peace, progress and prosperity. Schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other public institutions are functioning efficiently without any strikes or any kind of disturbances during the last four years. The earlier practice of daily hartals, strikes, stone pelting and bandhs are things of the past now. With record voting, the people of Jammu and Kashmir participated enthusiastically in the recently held Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

“Due to improved law and order, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2.11 Crore tourist visits in 2023. Foreign tourist’s arrival has increased by 2.5 times. This harmonious law and order situation has helped the government to initiate and implement socio-economic development,” Rai added.

In response to another question by Congress MP asked how many soldiers were killed in the last ten days, Rai stated that he would reply but the member should demonstrate the courage to listen to horrifying statistics during the period of 2004-2014.

RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhamkhar, however, asked the members, including the Minister, not to indulge in politics over security of the nation and security personnel. “We all are with the army and other security personnel,” he said.

However, Rai responding to Tiwari’s query stated that 28 terrorists were killed in the past few days in J&K. “Unfortunately, we lost a few of our soldiers also during this period. But the Member should recall the time between 2004-2014 when the tourists were afraid of visiting J&K. But now, the situation has undergone a change. We will soon eliminate them. They (terrorists) will either land in jail or will be sent to ‘jahannum’ (hell) as the government led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and its ecosystem,” Rai said.

“Security forces have killed about 900 terrorists in the region after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Between 2004 and 2014 when the UPA was ruling at the Centre, there were 7,217 incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, which came down to 2,259 after the BJP was voted to power. Though even these incidents should not have happened. 2,829 citizens and security personnel lost their lives between 2004 and 2014. This number has come down by 67 per cent since 2014. There is also a reduction of 69 per cent in terror incidents. People in Jammu and Kashmir are now living in a peaceful environment and there is a full guarantee of security,” he said.

IMPLEMENTATION OF PMDP PACKAGE IN J&K

In response to a supplementary question of MP Dr Dinesh Sharma regarding implementation of PMDP package and present situation in J&K, Rai said, “Impetus to the development of J&K has been given through implementation of schemes worth Rs 58, 477 Cr by 15 departments of Government of India under PMDP since 2015. Out of 53 schemes initiated there for J&K’s development, 35 schemes have either been completed or nearing completion. These schemes related to power, health, tourism, education, agriculture and skill development etc. This package has not only enhanced development but also helped bring peace and stability. Under these schemes, AIIMS, IIM Jammu, IIT Jammu, Jhelum development, Chenani Nashri tunnel, Qazigund-Banihal tunnel projects have been implemented. Pojk, WPR too got benefits under this package,” he informed.

Regarding another supplementary pertaining to progress related to jobs and rehabilitation of 6000 KP migrants, Rai stated, “There was a time when Kashmiri Hindus or Kashmiri Pandits, as a part of conspiracy facilitated by those who were only bothered about vote-bank politics, were forced to migrate for safety. This mass-exodus of KPs was preceded by spate of atrocities, rape and arson as a part of vicious political cycle. For these KP migrants, under PMDP, approval was given to the jobs and construction of 6000 transit accommodations, there in different parts of Kashmir. Out of them, 2088 transit accommodations have been completed, for the rest, construction process is going apace.”

Regarding jobs, he said, out of 6000, 5724 posts have been filled while 276 posts. “Confidence of migrants has been restored with the improvement in the situation. Government is taking all possible measures for their return, rehabilitation and safety and this process will be further strengthened,” he said.

In reply to another question, Rai said that the efforts of the government under ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ (NMBA) helped in better detection of drug addiction cases.

“Government has formulated and implemented the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) under which the government is taking a sustained and coordinated action for arresting the problem of substance abuse among the youth across the country including UT of Jammu & Kashmir,” he said.