Good governance now a reality in J&K, says Sinha

Stone pelting and strikes at the behest of Pakistan is history and J&K is marching ahead like any other part of India with nightlife and cinema halls making a comeback, Sinha said

The sounds of gunfire and bombs have been replaced by the “noise of development” in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370, lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said on Saturday.

J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha during the Global Business Summit in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI)

The Article, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated on August 5 in 2019 and the state bifurcated into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Speaking at the ET Now Global Business Summit 2024 in New Delhi, Sinha asserted that good governance has finally become a reality in J&K. Stone pelting and strikes at the behest of Pakistan is history and J&K is marching ahead like any other part of India with nightlife and cinema halls making a comeback, Sinha said.

He added that his administration has acted tough on supporters of Pakistan to restore the rule of law. “There was no relation between good governance and J&K for a very long time since independence. In my 40 months of personal experience, J&K is now being counted among states having good governance which I am considering as a big achievement,” Sinha said.

The credit for the change in the ground situation in J&K goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has achieved targets that were considered impossible, he said, referring to the abrogation of Article 370.

“J&K has achieved what was considered unthinkable, fulfilling the long standing wishes and aspirations of the people. The discrimination has ended and so has terrorism. The change happened because of the sacrifice of (Jana Sangh founder) Syama Prasad Mookerjee, devotion of others and the strong political will of Modi who overcame a challenge as big as the Himalayas and made J&K a permanent part of India, which is historic,” the lieutenant governor said.

He also referred to a couple of speeches of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Parliament. Vajpayee aptly highlighted the pain of the people by raising genuine points that it is a shame that even a PM has no power to buy a piece of land in J&K or the Parliament has no mandate to seek accounts of the money pumped into J&K, Sinha said.

He said that Parliament was also informed about the thousands of people going across the border for “guerilla training”. “It was an irony that those helping Pakistan were being rewarded in J&K while pro-India people faced disrespect,” Sinha said.

The lieutenant governor said the time has changed as his administration restored the rule of law and ensured fast-paced development with money from the central government spent in a transparent manner.