On the second day of his four-day Jammu and Kashmir visit, Union home minister Rajnath Singh told security personnel in the state the nation was proud of them and indebted for their sacrifices.
“The nation is indebted to the supreme sacrifices and no amount of money can compensate these sacrifices.We will again make J&K into a heaven on earth and no force can stop the country from achieving this goal,” an official statement quoted Singh as saying in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town.
Singh met state police and CRPF personnel and promised bullet-proof vests and vehicles would be sanctioned for all police stations.
His visit to Anantnag on Sunday came a day after constable Imtiyaz Ahmed was killed in a militant attack on a police post less than a km from the venue where he spoke. Singh paid tribute Ahmed and assistant sub-inspector Abdul Rasheed who was killed in Anantnag in an attack last month.
“This is not an ordinary sacrifice, this is supreme sacrifice,” Singh told the security personnel. “I am short of words to salute your bravery in the line of duty. Even the Prime Minister has praised your courage,” he said. He added that the whole country was “proud” of the bravery and valour of security personnel in “facing the terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring country”.
{{/usCountry}}“This is not an ordinary sacrifice, this is supreme sacrifice,” Singh told the security personnel. “I am short of words to salute your bravery in the line of duty. Even the Prime Minister has praised your courage,” he said. He added that the whole country was “proud” of the bravery and valour of security personnel in “facing the terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring country”.
{{/usCountry}}Singh also addressed a Sainik Sammelan at the CRPF 90 Battalion Camp in Anantnag. “Courage is not something that can be bought from the market; you are born with unassailable and unmatched courage,” he said. He added the government would consider providing helicopters to CRPF in the state.
He said, “It is my aim to provide at least Rs 1 crore to the families of our martyrs from the CAPFs (central armed police forces).”
Later, Singh met delegations from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC). Former chief minister Omar Abdullah, who led the NC delegation, told reporters that issues of Jammu, Kashmir, Leh and Kargil regions were discussed.
Abdullah told mediapersons he had conveyed to Singh that people of the state were touched by PM Narendra Modi’s words on August 15 that Kashmir’s problems would not be solved by abuse or bullets, but by embracing all Kashmiris. Abdullah added people wanted the PM’s words “to be brought to reality”.
In a memorandum to the home minister, the NC registered “its strong protest at the ambiguity that exists on behalf of the central government in defending the state’s special status in the Supreme Court”. The memorandum urged the Centre to take steps to safeguard the special status, restore autonomy, resume Indo-Pak dialogue process, and engage with all stakeholders in the conflict and alienated youth.
Singh is scheduled to address a press conference in Srinagar on Monday.