Union minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that scrapping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was the biggest achievement in the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term, PTI reported. Getting back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is the next step on the agenda, Singh said.

“It is not only my or my party’s commitment but a resolve of the unanimous resolution passed by Parliament in 1994 by the then Congress government, headed by [Prime Minister] PV Narasimha Rao,” Singh said at a press conference in Jammu. “This is an accepted position.”

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The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status needed “tremendous amount of will power, conviction and determination”. He claimed that India had international support on its decisions on Jammu and Kashmir, and said, “Some of those countries which were not agreeing to India’s viewpoint now follow our viewpoint.”

Singh claimed that the common man in Kashmir was “rejoicing” about the potential benefits of the withdrawal of special status. Those unhappy are only a handful of “beneficiaries of the mayhem which was carried on for all these years”, he said.

On the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, the Udhampur MP said, “Once the conditions are conducive, you do not have to make up a plan. They will themselves voluntarily go back as it is vicious to live outside their home land.” Singh said this was going to be the last phase of terrorism in Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir was put under prohibitory orders and an unprecedented communications blackout on August 4 as the government prepared to announce the revocation of the region’s autonomy. Prohibitory orders are being lifted gradually but the communications blockade remains in many parts. Some protests have been reported in the region after the decision.

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