Just days after the Centre held all-party meeting with leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was likely to take some “revolutionary steps” in J&K. Gupta was part of the three-member BJP delegation from Jammu and Kashmir who attended the all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi in Delhi on June 24.
The BJP leader said that the central government would restore Jammu and Kashmir’s past glory that too with people getting opportunities as never before.
“The Prime Minister is likely to take some revolutionary steps in J-K including early assembly polls to ensure that golden days that used to be the characteristics of the erstwhile state will be back soon,” the former deputy CM said.
Gupta said the all-party meeting held in Delhi was a “great success” and “it can be felt by one and all present there.” He said people of J-K should continue to pose undaunted faith in the leadership of Modi as they are doing right now to ensure unprecedented development and lasting peace.
On June 24, Prime Minister Modi held talks with top political leaders including Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah nearly two years after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into UTs and the revocation of its special status granted under Article 370.
After the all-party meeting, PM Modi said that his government’s priority was to strengthen grassroots democracy in J&K. “Delimitation has to happen at a quick pace so that polls can happen and J&K gets an elected Government that gives strength to J&K’s development trajectory,” he said.
However, leaders from J&K demand the restoration of statehood before election in the region. Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said that it was made clear to the Centre that the statehood should be restored to Jammu and Kashmir before holding of Assembly elections.
“(Ghulam Nabi) Azad sahib spoke on behalf of all of us that we do not accept this timeline. We do not accept delimitation, election, statehood. We want delimitation, statehood and then election. If you want to hold polls, you will have to restore statehood first,” he said.
