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Elections to be held in J&K after final voter list is completed: Amit Shah

Shah accuses Farooq, Mufti of doing politics for personal gains

Union Home Minister Amit Shah pays tribute to late SPO Mudassir Sheikh who lost his life in an encounter with militants | PTI Union Home Minister Amit Shah pays tribute to late SPO Mudassir Sheikh who lost his life in an encounter with militants | PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that elections will be announced in Jammu and Kashmir after the final voter list is completed. The list after revision will be completed by November 25. 

Shah made the statement at a rally in Baramulla, which was attended by several thousands people. He paused his address during the azan (call for prayer) in a nearby mosque. 

“The process (revision of voter list) is on and preparations are in full swing,’’ the home minister said. 

Lashing out at the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, Shah said the previous governments led by Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were responsible for the killing of around 42,000 people in J&K. He alleged that these leaders did politics for their personal gains, leaving people suffering.

“These families also looted J&K resources for their personal benefits and did nothing for the common man,” Shah said.

The home minister claimed that Baramulla, once a hotbed of militancy, is now a tourist hotspot. Gulmarg, the skiers’ paradise, shrines and the  snow-clad mountains are now attracting tourists in large numbers, he added.

Earlier, six lakh tourists used to visit Kashmir a year, but the number has now gone up to twenty lakh, the home minister further said.

Shah said because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jammu and Kashmir today has the best roads, rail links, bridges and hospitals.

“We have nine medical colleges, AIIMS and nursing colleges in the UT now,”  he said.

Shah reiterated that Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Paharis will be given reservation as these communities had been deprived of the benefits of democracy for the past 75  years. 

He praised Maqbool Sherwani for his role against Pakistani invaders in 1947. 

The home minister also laid the foundation stone for various power, road and Jal Shakti projects. He said that the Modi government will talk only to the youth in Kashmir and not to Pakistan. “I am ready to talk to the youth of J&K on any issue but not to Pakistan,” he said. Shah arrived in Jammu and Kashmir for a three day visit on October 3.

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