Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that the Congress destroyed the country with its wrong policies for the last 70 years, and injustice was continuously done to Jammu and Kashmir. He made the remarks at a rally in Ellenabad in Sirsa city of Haryana on the last day of campaigning for the Assembly polls.
Modi said Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was a temporary provision framed by Babsaheb Ambedkar. However, it continued for 70 years. “I ended this temporary provision,” he said. “When you made me permanent for five years, why would I allow this temporary thing?”
The Centre had abrogated the special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, and imposed a severe restrictions including a communication blockade. The Congress had opposed the manner in which the decision was implemented.
Modi also said that four lakh Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave the Valley in the 1990s.
The prime minister also attacked the Congress on the Kartarpur corridor matter, saying that for 70 years devotees had to seek “darshan” of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara using binoculars. Modi said the inability of the Congress to bring the gurdwara in Indian territory during Partition was a mistake.
India and Pakistan have over the past year negotiated the construction of a corridor to allow pilgrims to travel to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal district. The construction of the corridor is to be completed before Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th birth anniversary on November 9.
Modi claimed that in the past, no youth could get a job in Haryana without recommendations or paying bribes. “We have ended this practice forever,” he added.
“The BJP government is engaged in strengthening the agriculture and farming economy,” Modi said according to The Indian Express. “We have set out to fulfill the resolution to double farmers’ income by 2022. For this, work is being done at many levels simultaneously.”
The Haryana Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on October 21. The results for all 90 seats will be declared on October 24. Haryana is currently ruled by the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government.
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