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Article 370 in J&K was temporary still lasted for 70 years, happy it’s gone, says Dhankar
Citing rapid all-round growth and successful G20 summit in J&K, Dhankar said, “G20 summit meeting was a moment for pride for all of us. The world leaders enjoyed every second of their stay in Kashmir”
Article 370 was a temporary provision but still lasted for 70 years, said Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar while addressing the convocation ceremony of the University of Jammu (JU) on Thursday.
He, however, expressed happiness that the ills-plaguing the region in the form of Article 370 and 35-A were done away with in August 2019 that paved for remarkable growth and development in the region.
“June 23 is the day of martyrdom of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Though belated, we have realised his dream. Now Indians can move freely in any part of the country”
“Dr Shama Prasad Mukherjee’s dream of seeing ‘Ek Vidhan, Ek Pradhan and Ek Nishan’ stands fulfilled today with J&K’s complete integration with the union of India,” he added.
Citing rapid all-round growth and successful G20 summit in J&K, Dhankar said, “G20 summit meeting was a moment for pride for all of us. The world leaders enjoyed every second of their stay in Kashmir.”
He continued on the revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A, saying he had been personally advocating for the past 20 years that it was an aberration.
“Go to the constitutional texts. This article was temporary but lasted for 70 years. We are happy it’s not there anymore. Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee had given a slogan ‘EK Desh Mein Do Pradhan, Do Nishan, Do Vidhan Nahi Chalenge Aur Aaj Nahi Chal Rahe Hain.”
Dhankar said the part of remarkable growth post-revocation of Articles 370 and 35-A in August 2019 was a testament to the vision and foresight of Dr Mukherjee, who sacrificed his life for it.
“The region’s integration into the national mainstream has paved the way for investment, development and improved governance. I have no doubt that Jammu will be a hub of education. Look at the changes that have taken place. All top institutions of the country are here be that IIT, IIM, and in a matter of few months AIIMS shall be made fully functional in Samba district,” said the vice president.
Dhankar claimed that Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, had declined to draft Article 370.
He said post abrogation of Article 370, a total of 890 central laws were extended to J&K, over 200 state laws repealed and over 100 state laws have been modified in consonance with the constitution.
The vice president also cited incremental growth in connectivity via rail, road, and air in the region.
“World’s highest rail bridge over the Chenab River has come up here. We have Chenani-Nashri Tunnel. Infrastructure development projects are being implemented. In fact, what’s happening in the country is amazing. We were 11th economy just a decade ago and in September 2022 we got the distinction of being the fifth largest economy of the world and in the process, we marched ahead of our colonial rulers-- the UK,” he said.
He also informed that digital transfer in India in 2022 was 1.3 trillion US dollars.
“Take digital transfers of UK, US, Germany and France and multiply them by 4. And, we are still ahead of them. Did we ever dream of this?” he said.
“We have 700 million internet users which is more than the US and China put together. Democracy is flourishing and is on the rise. Today, we are all proud Indians. We haven’t seen Bharat of today as ever before,” he added.
On the occasion, 211 gold medals for the years 2016–2019 and 265 PhD degrees for the years 2017–2019 were awarded to the meritorious students.
Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and the JU vice chancellor also addressed the gathering.
