KATHUA, Sept 21 : Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s ‘Balidan Bhoomi’ Kathua will herald the victory march of BJP when the J&K Assembly election results are declared on October 8th.Addressing a series of election meetings in Kathua Reserve and Hiranagar Assembly constituencies here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is a foregone conclusion that district Kathua will return all the six assembly seats to BJP and now the endeavour is to increase the victory margin in comparison to last assembly election. He said, a message from Kathua will echo across the country because it is from this region that our founding father Syama Prasad Mookerjee has courted arrest when he was taken into custody by the Sheikh Abdullah government by deceit and then carried over to Srinagar where he died under mysterious circumstances after 40 days.
Kathua, therefore, said Dr Jitendra Singh, ignited the spark of Jammu & Kashmir’s complete integration with India and of uncompromising nationalism which later became the inspiration and torch bearer of Bharatiya Jana Sangh and BJP’s decades long crusade for abrogation of Article 370 and as well as struggle against the politics of discrimination and appeasement followed by Congress, National Conference and its allies.
It is only in the last 10 years, said Dr Jitendra Singh, after Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, that this region got its dues and the discrimination done by the earlier governments was also sought to be undone. He cited the Shahpur-Kandi project, where under Indus Water Treaty, the water from River Ravi was to be used for the irrigation purpose of the border districts of Jammu & Kashmir but was kept in cold storage for over four decades because of the appeasement policy of the Congress government, and was revived only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over.
As far as the areas situated along the International border are concerned, they were continuously the victims of the regular cross-border firing from the Pakistan side and people living there did not know where to take shelter and had to run helter-skelter to take refuge in a Panchayat Ghar or in a School or in a relative’s house. It was only after Prime Minister Modi took over that high standard Bunkers were constructed which served as a living space in case of firing on the borders so that people did not have to flee from there.
Not only this, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that the Congress and National Conference government had granted 4% reservation in admission to higher education institutions and in government jobs to the youth living along the LoC because they thought that they were their vote bank but the same was denied to the youth living along the International Border because they thought that they were not a part of their vote bank. Modi government did away with this inhumane anomaly and now the 4% reservation is available to the youth living along the International Border as well, he added.
The pace of development, said Dr Jitendra Singh, has been fast-tracked and today there are roads constructed upto zero line of the international border. In addition, he said, in order to provide a level playing field to the youth regardless wherever they hail from, Mobile Tower connectivity has been provided along the international border so that the youth and children are not at disadvantage in availing the facility of internet for their studies and preparation for competitive examinations. The two Vade Bharat Express Trains and the Katra-Delhi Express road Corridor were also granted by the Modi government and have made Kathua region one of the emerging business destinations of North India.
Appealing for a vote in support of the BJP candidates, Dr Jitendra Singh said, a vote for BJP will be an endorsement of the development journey led by Modi and will enable a bright future for the next generation of this region.
