SRINAGAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will happen before September this year.
Shah made the remarks during the Rising India Summit 2024 hosted by CNN-News18 in New Delhi. The people of Kashmir should be brave. They should “punish” those who kept them deprived of democracy and constitutional rights for 75 years. “You can vote for whichever party you want, but these three parties (Congress, NC, PDP) should be taught a lesson,” Shah said.
He said that elections in the Union Territory will take place before the September deadline set by the Supreme Court. With five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir going to polls from next month, Shah said, “I want to say to all the Muslim brothers and sisters of the Valley that if you want democracy to reach to the grassroots of Kashmir, then you must wipe out these three political parties.”
On the grass-root development in Kashmir, Shah said, “Since Independence, the region has not witnessed the Panchayat election. For the first time, we appointed 30,000 Sarpanches and Panches. We formed Tehsils and Zila Parishads in Kashmir.”
When asked about reforms in the region after the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said, “Today, every Kashmiri gets an annual health insurance of Rs 5 lakh, water supply and rice, tourism is flourishing, theatres have opened after 30 years, this is all because of democracy.”
About the dates for the assembly elections in Kashmir, Shah said as per the Supreme Court order, the electoral exercise should be conducted by September.
The Supreme Court, while upholding the constitutional validity to abrogate Article 370 in December last year directed the Centre to facilitate the conduct of assembly polls before September this year.
The Election Commission of India last week announced the schedule for Lok Sabha polls along with assembly polls due in 4 states, however, said assembly polls in J&K will not be held simultaneously along with the general elections, stating that additional security measures are required to conduct polls in the Union Territory.
