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‘PoK an integral part of India, every Indian’s goal to get it back': Amit Shah
Amit Shah said the people of Kashmir Valley were given a wrong interpretation of Article 370 which now stands nullified after its abrogation.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday reiterated that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) is an integral part of India, and both the Muslims and Hindus living there are Indians.
“The BJP and the entire Parliament believe that POK believes the POK is an integral part of India. The Muslims and the Hindus living in POK are also Indians and the land also belongs to India which has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. It is the goal of every Indian, every Kashmiri to get it back,” Shah said in an interview to the JK Media Group.
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Shah said that the people of Kashmir Valley were given a wrong interpretation of Article 370 which now stands nullified after its abrogation.
“It was always said that once Article 370 is abrogated, the culture, language and existence of Kashmiriyat will be threatened. It is now five years after the abrogation but nothing such has happened. Kashmiris are free today, the importance of the Kashmiri language, and food culture have enhanced and tourists are flocking to the tourist spots of Kashmir,” the minister said.
Shah spoke on several myths that revolved around Article 370. “It was also said that lakhs of people would move to Kashmir threatening the very existence of Kashmiriyat that myth too stands busted today,” he said.
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‘Separatist ideology was shaped under shadows of Article 370’: Shah
“Under the shadows of Article 370, a separatist ideology was shaped and the youths of Jammu and Kashmir were dragged into terrorism. Pakistan misused this situation and in the last 4 decades, more than 40,000 youths lost their lives,” Shah said.
“But today Jammu and Kashmir is heading on the path of progress. Terrorism is seeing its fag end, stone-pelting has completely stopped. An anti-corruption bureau has been formed to stop corruption and people’s money is reaching the people,” the Union minister added.
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Shah slams Cong, NC & PDP
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's massive rally in J&K, Shah said that the goal of the Centre is not to strengthen BJP in the Union territory but to ‘liberate’ Kashmir from ‘the claws of dynastic politics’.
“The three dynastic parties namely the Congress, the National Congress and the PDP have always hindered the percolation of democracy at the grassroots. Until Modi ji became the prime minister, the panchayat elections were not held in Jammu and Kashmir. But today more than 30,000 representatives are participating in the democratic process,” he said.
