A day after National Conference called for the release of political leaders and restoration of statehood, the BJP today said that it is committed to grant statehood to Jammu and Kashmir once the situation “becomes conducive”. The party leaders did not explain what they meant by the “conducive situation”.
BJP senior leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta while addressing a function in Jammu said restoring statehood to J&K is a commitment that the BJP government has made and the same will be fulfilled as and when the situation improves in the region. Gupta refused to divulge contours of what he meant by improvement in the situation. The BJP, since the abrogation of Article 370, has been maintaining that situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved and J&K is on the path to development and prosperity.
Gupta said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah give special attention to J&K. He said they are keen to transform the socio-economic condition of the region “by ensuring unprecedented progress and roping in all the stakeholders in the development process which they have envisioned for Jammu and Kashmir”.
Gupta said the sincerity of the Modi-led dispensation can be well gauged by the way things are changing their course in J&K. He cited the government’s nod to Ratle HEP despite Pakistan’s objections, as one such example, of the government’s “sincerity”. He said it is now just a matter of days that things are going to take a pleasant turn in J&K.
On Wednesday, the Union cabinet approved a Rs 5281.94 crore investment for 850 megawatt (MW) Ratle hydropower project on Chenab river in Chenab Valley region of Jammu. Chenab flows from India into Pakistan.
The Ratle project will be developed by a new joint venture between NHPC Ltd and Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDC). While NHPC will have a 51 per cent stake in the JV firm, the balance will be held by JKSPDC.
The National Conference on Friday sought an end to the political “witch-hunt in Jammu and Kashmir” and called for restoration of statehood.
