NEW DELHI: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had created an enabling milieu for huge voter turnout in the Kashmir Valley, which was virtually unimaginable till a few years ago. In a detailed interview to ANI in the background of the crucial polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, as far as the Kashmir Valley is concerned, the polling has been almost as much or higher than the national average. Last time also in Phase-5 it was 59 to 60 percent average at the national level while Baramulla Constituency alone had witnessed over 59 percent of polling. Similarly, today also in the Anantnag-Rajouri Constituency the polling is set to be equal or higher than the national average, he said. This, said Dr Jitendra Singh, is a vindication of the fact that in the last 2 to 3 decades, the Kashmir Valley was constrained to go through elections of a very limited scale and the voter turnout was also limited. As a result of this, MPs and MLAs as well as the governments would get elected with a dismal voter turnout but this suited the dynastic political parties of Kashmir to continue their family rule, he said. The credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Dr Jitendra Singh, for having made the people of Kashmir realise the true sense of democracy which is being reflected in the ongoing Lok Sabha General Elections happening for the first time after the abrogation of Article-370. Dr Jitendra Singh said, this drastic change has happened because of the personal outreach and honest approach demonstrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which has successfully convinced the people of Kashmir that already 2 to 3 generations have been wasted and it is time to move on with the rest of India. He said, the people of Jammu & Kashmir are highly aspirational and highly forward looking, as a result of which they can now visualise the opportunities made available by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and do not wish to miss the bus. Responding to a question regarding the protest launched by the PDP leaders as the polling began this morning in Anantnag, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the protest is not convincing and perhaps it is an indirect expression of weakness. He said, when the democratic forces have come out so openly and vibrantly in Kashmir Valley, whosoever is in a denial mode will have issues within himself or herself. In response to another question about some of Arvind Kejriwal’s statements being lauded by the Pakistani leaders, Dr Jitendra Singh said, time and again concerns have been expressed by the BJP leaders and its spokespersons about Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the other India Block leaders making statements which are music to the ear of the enemy countries. He said in their haste and misguided enthusiasm to find fault with Prime Minister Modi and his government, some of these leaders go to the extent of hurting the interest of Mother India. This, he said, should be an eye opener for the people of India because on one hand they have BJP whose motto is nation first, party second and self last whereas on the other hand it is the India Block parties for whom it is self first, party next and nation last.
