By Kashmir Leader Desk
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has once again raised an issue of Jammu and Kashmir in the parliament. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sitting at his chair when Azad rose to speak on Feb 3. The Prime Minister heard whole speech of the leader of the opposition giving indication the government would like to see demands of restoration of the statehood coming from different quarters in Jammu and Kashmir and beyond.
Azad asked the government to restore statehood for Jammu and Kashmir and hold Assembly elections. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Azad said no development was taking place in J&K while tourism and education had been hit hard following the revocation of special status under Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.
“I never heard (former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee or any BJP leader (before the Modi government) who ever demanded that Jammu and Kashmir should be split into two. There was a demand for UT in only one district of Ladakh (Leh), not Kargil,” Azad said.
Azad said law and order was 100 times better when Jammu and Kashmir was a state. “Tourists don’t visit the place much now, and the ones that do frequent just the luxury hotels, and rarely interact with locals,” he said.
Eighteen months after abolishing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, the centre has acknowledged that tourism in Kashmir has been on the decline. According to the government, only 84,000 tourists have visited Kashmir since August 5, 2019.
Special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was removed by the centre through a presidential order on August 5, 2019 amid communication blockade, military siege and arrests of thousands of people.
“The impact was felt more severely in Kashmir valley than in Jammu division,” Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel informed the Rajya Sabha.
A total of 84,326 tourists visited Kashmir since August, 2019 while 87,94,837 visited Jammu and 1,00,931 tourists visited Ladakh. The total number of pilgrims or tourists who visited Jammu since August 2019 was 76,80,775, according to data provided by the government.
Azad also drew attention of the Prime Minister towards the communication facility and low speed internet.
“As for education, internet connectivity is often cut off, and even when available, it is 2G. In the age of 4G, how can we do anything with 2G? This is affecting the education of students,” Azad said. He said people in Ladakh and Jammu were not happy about the fact that anyone can buy their land or get jobs. Last year, the Centre notified new land rules in J&K, allowing any Indian citizen to purchase non-agricultural land in the Union territory. The rules have also omitted any need for being a domicile or having a permanent resident certificate for the purchase of land in J&K.
“Statehood to J&K should be restored and assembly elections held at the earliest,” Azad repeated. While making these remarks, Azad was quick to congratulate the government on conducting successful elections to the District Development Council (DDC) elections.
However, he had word of caution for the government. “Indira Gandhi taught us that we can’t fight on so many fronts. People in Ladakh, Jammu are not happy that anyone can buy their land or get jobs. No one is happy in J&K and Ladakh,” he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in the House. It has to be seen whether the government will heed his advice.
On August 5, 2019 when the government revoked Article 370, Azad had condemned the government’s move. That time responding to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the House, Azad had accused the BJP of murdering the Constitution.
