KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Right wing Hindu nationalist BJP led Union Government on Monday reached out to Peoples Democratic Party asserting that it was ready to walk an extra mile for Jammu and Kashmir and assured equitable development of all three regions of the State.
Senior BJP leader and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Parliament that its government was willing to walk an extra mile in Jammu and Kashmir, reports said on Tuesday.
Jaitley’s commitment on the floor of the Parliament regarding J&K comes at a time when PDP-BJP talks over government formation are in a deadlock.
Jaitley said the Government stood by its commitment for “equitable development” of all three regions—Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh—of the State.
“We want to implement Rs 80,000 crore economic package of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for equitable development of the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir,” Jaitley said, replying to the budget debate in LokSabha.
J&K is presently under Governor’s rule from January 8 after the demise of former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
Jaitley said the Government was committed to set up various institutions, like IIT, IIM and AIIMS, announced earlier for the state.
The PDP President Mehbooba Mufti has asked New Delhi to announce J&K-specific measures, both on the political and economic fronts, ahead of any forward movement by her party on forming the government with the BJP in the state, though she has been reiterating that her party was committed to the alliance.
The PDP, among other demands, has been seeking return of two power projects from National Hydel Power Corporation (NHPC) to the State. The state gets 12 percent royalty from the power projects owned by the NHPC in the state.
