New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during an exclusive interview with NDTV, said that scrapping of Article 370 helped strengthen democracy in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the move sent a clear message to the people of the Valley that they are a part of India.

“Modi ji scrapped Article 370 and sent a message to Valley that you are a part of India and India belongs to you, you belong to India. I believe because of this the foundation of democracy there got stronger, and not just Lok Sabha polls even panchayat polls there there was 90 per cent voting. I believe it is a huge achievement and every Indian should welcome this,” Mr Shah said during a conversation with NDTV’s editor-in-chief Sanjay Pugalia.

Elaborating, Mr Shah said that the BJP government has been so successful in the region that even members of separatist organisations are now casting their votes.

“Some people of Jamaat e-Islami and Hurriyat voted and said they voted under Indian Constitution since there is no J&K Constitution. Jammu and Kashmir is now under Indian Constitution, so I believe Narendra Modi’s Kashmir policy was successful. For so many years, Kashmir was being governed through appeasement politics but not anymore,” the Home Minister said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is hoping to win a third consecutive term. Last phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections will be held on June 1, and results will be declared on June 4.

To a question about BJP’s pitch of winning 400+ seats, Mr Shah said, “When we won the 2014 elections under Narendra Modi’s leadership on the slogan of absolute majority, many political analysts from Delhi had said this was not possible. But we got absolute majority. Then, in 2019, when we gave the slogan of ‘300 plus’, people said it is not possible. People are saying the same this time. But I think they will believe us in the next election before ‘400 par’ is happening this time.”

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Article 370 was neither the agenda of the people of Kashmir nor of the country but only of “four-five families” and that it is a matter of greatest satisfaction for him that the brothers and sisters in Kashmir came forward to vote with great enthusiasm in the Lok Sabha polls.

In an exclusive interview with the news agency ANI, the Prime Minister said there is a feeling of more unity with the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the feeling of belongingness is increasing and the result is visible in the elections and in the increase in tourism.

“Article 370 was the agenda of only four-five families, it was neither the agenda of the people of Kashmir nor the agenda of the people of the country. For their benefit, they had built such a wall of 370 and used to say that if 370 is removed, there will be a fire…Today it has become true that after the removal of 370, there is a feeling of more unity. The feeling of belongingness is increasing among the people of Kashmir and hence its direct result is also visible in elections, tourism,” he said.

Modi government abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, months after it came to office for the second successive term.

The Prime Minister noted that the people in Kashmir warmly welcomed the delegates during events related to the G20 summit.

Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituencies in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir saw record turnout in Lok Sabha polls held in different phases earlier this month.

Srinagar recorded 38.49 per cent polling, Baramulla 59.1 per cent and Anantnag-Rajouri 51.35 per cent as of 5 pm on April 25, the day the polling was held on the seat. The polling has been highest since 1989. These were the first Lok Sabha elections in Jamu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

The Prime Minister said that the decisions of the government were always for a good cause.

“First of all, I would like to pray to the justice system of our country that if the government wants to do any work, they have a design, strategy to do that work. To solve such problems, work had to be done under that strategy. Now sometimes I had to shut down the internet for that. Some NGO went to court and it became a big issue in the court but today the children there proudly say that the internet has not been shut down for the last 5 years and we have been getting all the facilities for the last 5 years. There was some pain for a few days, but it was for a good cause… It is very important to save the country from such NGOs,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that enthusiastic participation of voters in Lok Sabha polls has given a message to the world and “those who had doubts”.

“When the common man votes there, it is not just to make someone win, voting means that the voter accepts the Constitution of India and expresses his dedication towards the entire spirit of India… As a result, voting records of 40 years have been broken. It is a matter of greatest satisfaction for me that my brothers and sisters from Kashmir came forward to vote with great enthusiasm. By voting, they have given a message to the world and to those who used to have doubts,” he said.

Voting has been held in six phases of Lok Sabha polls and will conclude with the last phase on June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the people of the Srinagar parliamentary constituency for the “encouraging turnout” of 38 per cent, which is more than double the 14.43 pc polling in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, polling took place in 2,135 polling stations on Monday across the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency containing assembly segments of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Budgam and Shopian districts.

In his post on X, PM Modi said, “Would especially like to applaud the people of Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency for the encouraging turnout, significantly better than before. The abrogation of Article 370 has enabled the potential and aspirations of the people to find full expression. Happening at the grassroots level, it is great for the people of J&K, in particular the youth.”

Srinagar voter turnout of 38 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is the highest in several decades. There are 24 candidates in the fray as compared to 12 in the 2019 general election.

The voter turnout in Srinagar was 14.43 per cent in 2019, 25.86 per cent in 2014, 25.55 per cent in 2009, 18.57 per cent in 2004, 11.93 per cent in 1999, 30.06 per cent in 1998, and 40.94 per cent in 1996.

According to the Election Commission, voters from Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Pulwama, and Shopian showed up in record numbers to cast their votes in a show of faith and enthusiasm in the election process.

Chadoora, Ganderbal, Kangan, Khansahib and Shopian Assembly segments recorded more than 45 per cent voter turnout.

“Polling personnel, including security personnel, worked tirelessly to ensure that an atmosphere of calm, peace and festivities welcomed voters at the polling stations,” the ECI said.

“More than 8,000 polling staff were on duty to cater to the over 17.47 lakh strong electorate. Command-and-Control centres have been working round the clock in Srinagar as well as Jammu since March 16, the date of announcement of general elections to ensure free, fair and inducement-free elections,” it added.

The commission has enabled Kashmiri migrant voters residing at various relief camps in Delhi, Jammu and Udhampur to also have the option of voting in person at designated special polling stations or using postal ballot. 21 special polling stations were established at Jammu, one at Udhampur and four at Delhi.

In 2019, polling for the Lok Sabha was held for six seats in Jammu and Kashmir. However, following the abrogation of Article 370, which resulted in the split of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, there is no longer a separate Lok Sabha constituency for Ladakh.

Voting for the Udhampur and Jammu seats was concluded on April 19 and 26 respectively while in Srinagar voting was done on May 13.
Baramulla seat will vote on May 20 while the Anantnag-Rajouri seat on May 25.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dhar:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he wanted the 400-seat mandate for the BJP-led NDA to ensure the Congress does not bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and put a “Babri lock” on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

He also hit out at RJD leader Lalu Prasad over his remarks favouring quota benefits to Muslims, saying the INDI alliance wants to snatch all reservations of SCs, STs and OBCs and give them to the “vote bank” as part of a deeper conspiracy.

Addressing a rally at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi said Congress has mentioned in the poll manifesto that it will ensure the participation of minorities in contracts, which means the opposition party will give contracts on a religious basis.

He claimed the Congress has also talked about giving priority to minorities in sports and wondered whether the selection of players in the cricket team will be based on his religion.

PM Modi accused Congress of belittling Babasaheb Ambedkar by claiming he had a very little role in framing the Constitution compared to Pandit Nehru.

“The truth is that the Congress parivar (family) deeply hates Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he said.

Accusing Congress of spreading rumours that the BJP government will change the Constitution if it wins 400 seats, Modi said it seems the intelligence of Congress people is focused on their vote bank.

“It is important for the country’s people to know the BJP-led NDA already has 400-plus seats in Parliament. We used this number to scrap Article 370 (which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir),” the PM said.

PM Modi wants 400 seats so that the Congress won’t bring back Article 370 to spoil the game and put a Babri lock on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, he said.

The PM said that about 14 days back, he challenged Congress to give in writing to the country’s 140 crore people that it will not give reservation based on religion.

“Secondly, I asked them to give in writing that they will never snatch reservations being given to SCs, STs and OBC and thirdly, to give in writing that they will never give reservations to Muslims through dacoity on the existing OBC quota, but they are not responding and put a lock on their mouths,” he said.

PM Modi claimed the Congress has also talked about giving priority to minorities in sports.

“I wanted to ask Congress, if it wanted to do so, why it divided the country in three parts after 1947. At the same time, the entire country would have been made Pakistan and at the same time, India would have been erased,” he said.

The PM said he wants 400 Lok Sabha seats to prevent Congress from “dacoity” of the OBC quota to benefit its vote bank.

Lashing out at Congress for claiming that BJP will alter the Constitution in the third term, Modi said, “We have also used these 400 plus seats to extend SC/ST quota for 10 years, appoint a tribal woman as the country’s President for the first time and to provide reservation to women, PM Modi said.

“Modi is asking for 400 seats so that the Congress does not hand over the country’s vacant land and islands to other countries, it does not take away reservation given to SC/ST/OBCs and give it to its vote bank and does not declare all castes of its vote bank as OBC overnight,” he said.

Without naming Lalu Prasad, PM Modi said a big alliance partner of the INDIA bloc has endorsed what he used to say about their plan to end the reservations for SC, ST and OBCs.

“Their leader who has eaten the animal’s fodder (alluding to Lalu Yadav’s conviction in fodder scam) and convicted by the court, even by the Supreme Court in the corruption case and out on bail due to health..” “Congress is making him dance on their head. He is saying not only Muslims should get reservations but all the reservations should be given to Muslims. Means they want all the reservation to Muslims by snatching it from SC, ST and OBC,” PM Modi said.

He alleged the Congress had stabbed Ambedkar, who had opposed the religion-based reservation, and the Constitution in the back.

“The Congress has started saying that he (Ambedkar) had a very little role in framing the Constitution and Pandit Nehru made the most significant contribution,” he said and pointed out that Ambedkar was given the Bharat Ratna when Congress was not in power.

He said if Congress has its way, it will say its vote bank has the first right to live in India and asserted “till Modi is alive, he will foil attempts to erase India’s identity in the name of fake and pseudo-secularism”.

The Congress, which gave the Gareebi Hatao slogan for 50 years, is angry with facilities being given to the poor now, Modi alleged.

“Congress leaders are saying they will discontinue the free ration and free medical treatment schemes,” he said, adding Congress has opposed all our works related to “viraasat (legacy) and aastha (faith).

PM Modi said the Opposition was defeated in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, “destroyed” in the second phase, and whatever is left of it in the third phase today will also collapse. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The BJP hit out at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday over his swipe at the ruling party for raising the issue of removal of Article 370 of the Constitution – which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir – in Rajasthan, with Home Minister Amit Shah saying the opposition party’s “Italian culture” is to be blamed for it not understanding the very idea of India.

Mr Shah and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including its president JP Nadda, shared a short clip of Kharge’s speech on X, in which he is heard targeting the ruling party for talking about the removal of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, in Rajasthan.

“Arre bhai, yahan ke logon se kya wasta hai (what has it got to do with the people here)?” Mr Kharge is heard asking in the clip. The Congress chief also incorrectly referred to Article 371 instead of Article 370, which had granted special rights to Jammu and Kashmir and was annulled by the BJP-led Centre in August 2019.

Mr Shah said on X that it was “shameful” to hear what Mr Kharge said. He reminded the Congress that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that every state and citizen has a right over it just as the people of the Union territory have a right over the rest of the country.

Taking a swipe at the Congress, Mr Shah said the party does not know that many brave sons of Rajasthan have sacrificed their lives for peace and security in Kashmir.

“But it is not merely the fault of the Congress leaders. It is mostly the Italian culture of the Congress party that is to blame for not understanding the very idea of India. Such statements hurt every patriotic citizen who cares for the unity and integrity of the nation. People will certainly answer Congress,” he said in the post

It is shameful to hear that the Congress party is asking, “Kashmir se kya waasta hai?”

I would like to remind the Congress party that J&K is an integral part of India, and every state and citizen has the right over J&K, just as the people of J&K have the right over the rest of… pic.twitter.com/cFeO80XBxl

— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) April 6, 2024

“And for the kind information of the Congress, it was not Article 371, but Article 370, that was abrogated by the Modi government,” he added.

Continuing his attack, the home minister said it is only expected of the Congress that it would make such horrendous mistakes. “Such blunders made by it have haunted our nation for decades now,” he said.

Mr Nadda also seized on the issue to hit out at the Congress.

In a post on X, he said, “Another day, another gem from Congress! Kharge Ji displays the typical Congress mindset which wanted Jammu and Kashmir to remain disconnected from the rest of India. He doesn’t even know that the Article in question is Article 370 and not 371.”

Another day, another gem from Congress! Kharge Ji displays the typical Congress mindset which wanted Jammu and Kashmir to remain disconnected from the rest of India. He doesn’t even know that that Article in question is Article 370 and not 371!

Jammu and Kashmir will remain an… pic.twitter.com/JMy6zUFGpf

— Jagat Prakash Nadda (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JPNadda) April 6, 2024

Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India, the BJP chief said, adding that the removal of Article 370 is very much linked to national pride and the unity as well as integrity of India.

The Congress will never understand such emotions, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Singapore:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that Article 370 was a temporary measure and it prevented very progressive laws from being extended to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Addressing the Indian community members in Singapore, Mr Jaishankar said that the benefits of the change are now visible.

The minister said that Article 370 was a temporary measure of the Indian Constitution and by extending it, two things happened, which harmed us as a nation.

“One, it created an ethos of separatism, violence and terrorism. And this became a problem for the security of the entire country. Second, it prevented very progressive laws from being extended to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh at that point,” he added.

In August 2019, the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories.

“Today, you can see the benefits of the change that has happened,” he said while responding to a question.

Mr Jaishankar is in Singapore on a three-day visit from Saturday. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, took strong exception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks today on Article 370 of the constitution and that it had only helped propagate dynastic rule in the erstwhile state. “If Article 370 was this bad, how did Jammu and Kashmir ever make progress,” he questioned.

PM Modi, in his first visit to Srinagar today since the scrapping of Article 370, had called it a “new Jammu and Kashmir” that was the result of the scrapping of the erstwhile state’s special status.

“For decades, for political gains, Congress and its allies misled people in the name of Article 370. But today there are equal rights and opportunities for all. The people know the truth… they were misled… This is the new Jammu and Kashmir for which we all were waiting,’ he had said.  

Shortly after, Farooq Abdullah — a three-time Chief Minister of the erstwhile state — hit back.

“If Article 370 was this bad — I would like the Prime Minister to re-hear the speech made in the Rajya Sabha by then Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, in which he compared two states. He compared Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir in terms of progress when Article 370 was there,” Farooq Abdullah said.

“Now, if Article 370 and nepotism are responsible, then how did we make that progress? It is the people’s rule, I lost the election as a chief minister. So, where is the dynastic rule?” Mr Abdullah said. “This dynastic rule is a kind of common voice I heard also in parliament. In every speech that PM makes, he makes a particular target on it”.

The former Chief Minister also pointed out that the scrapping of Article 370 has made education expensive.

Education from the level of primary schools to universities was free, he said. “Today, education is only free up to the 14th class. In the universities, you have to pay now. An honest commission has to be put to see what was there before the revoke of Article 370 and what was is thereafter,” Mr Abdullah said.

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Srinagar:

The Jammu and Kashmir government today revoked the suspension of a college teacher who had recently argued against the scrapping of Article 370 in the Supreme Court.

The suspension of Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a senior lecturer of political science, surfaced when the Supreme Court was hearing petitions challenging the centre’s 2019 move.

The Supreme Court had sought to know if the suspension was linked to his court appearance and indicated it would take a dim view if this was the case, suggesting it might be seen as “retribution”.

The government’s top law officer, too, admitted the timing of his suspension was not proper.

The Jammu and Kashmir government revoked the suspension order on Sunday and asked Mr Bhat to “report back for his original place of posting”.

This comes a day before the centre concludes its argument in the Article 370 case before the Supreme Court. This is also the first instance in last the four years that a government order was revoked in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Supreme Court last week asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to speak with the Lt Governor over the lecturer being suspended days after he had appeared before its five-judge Constitution bench.

Before the court, Mr Bhat, who also holds a law degree, had argued against the 2019 move that took away Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union territories.

Soon after, the Jammu and Kashmir Education department suspended him citing the violations of the civil service regulations, government employees conduct rules and leave rules.

Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal raised the issue in the Supreme Court after which Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to look into it and speak to the Lt Governor.

Mr Sibal told the court that Mr Bhat had argued for five minutes in the court which led to his suspension on August 25. “He took leave for two days, went back, and was suspended,” he informed.

“Mr AG, just see what has happened. Someone who appears in this court is suspended now. Have a look into it. Talk to the LG,” the Chief Justice remarked. “If there is something else, then it’s different. But why such close succession to him appearing and then getting suspended,” he asked.

Justice SK Kaul, also part of the Constitution Bench, pointed out the “close proximity” between the arguments and the suspension order, following which the Solicitor General admitted that the “timing was not definitely proper”

Justice BR Gavai, another judge on the bench, too said the government action may be a retribution.

Mr Mehta pointed out there were other issues that had led to his suspension and that Mr Bhat appears in various courts.

Then, he should have been suspended earlier, why now, argued Mr Sibal.

The senior lawyer said Mr Bhat teaches politics in Jammu and Kashmir and it had become difficult for him since the 2019 move as his students were raising questions over democracy.

New Delhi:

Foreign minister S Jaishankar termed the scrapping of Article 370 — which gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status — “one of the biggest achievements” of the BJP-led Central government. In a conversation with NDTV’s Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia that’s part of NDTV’s mega conclave “Decoding G-20”, Mr Jaishankar said, “About Kashmir, honestly, I was a member of the cabinet in 2019 and involved in the decisions taken. One part is still amazed at how we allowed this situation to fester for so long”.

The change on the ground, he said, has been hugely positive. I had gone there in 1979 when I joined the government. I went to the same place in 2019 where I went in 1979 and was amazed at how little had changed,” he said.

Mr Jaishankar’s comments come as a five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court is hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the scrapping of the Article 370.  

The hearing has been on for 12 days, during which the Centre has cited the changes in the erstwhile state, which was split into two Union territories in 2019 after is special status was scrapped.