SAMBA: Senior BJP leader Smriti Irani addressed a public meeting in support of BJP candidate Dr Davinder Kumar Manyal in Samba on Wednesday ahead of the third phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir. BJP leader Smriti Irani said, “Under the BJP government at the centre IIT and IIM was built in Jammu and Kashmir. After Article 370 was abrogated, Dalits and deprived have got protection under the constitution. On the other side there are people who want that we talk to those people who fire bullets on Indian citizen from other side of the border. I wish to ask can you give votes to such people?” She further asked if such people could be given votes who want that talks should be continued with the country which threatens Indian civilians with guns. “These are such parties which in the Parliament cry out in the name of constitution but do not answer than when Article 370 was in place and when reservation of Dalits and under-priviledged was not in force then why they did not talk about constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. Wmen were ill-treated and all there rights were taken away after their marriage. They never spoke about constitution then,” she further said. She said that NC, PDP and Congress the trio have halted the progress of Jammu and Kashmir. “We have to take a pledge that people should not vote for such parties who have halted the progress of Jammu and Kashmir,” Smriti Irani added. Assembly polls are being held in Jammu and Kashmir in three phases. The second phase of polling in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir concluded peacefully on Wednesday with 56.79 percent voter turnout across 26 assembly constituencies. The first phase, held on September 18, recorded a voter turnout of 61.13 per cent across 24 constituencies in seven districts, according to the Election Commission. Voting for the third phase will take place on October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 8, alongside the counting of votes in Haryana. The final phase, on October 1, will see voting in 40 seats of Bandipora, Kupwara, Baramulla, Udhampur, Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts.
