In J&K, it’s time for restoration of full-fledged political activity: Ram

‘Special Circumstances after August 5 over, Give people 4G’ ‘Time that state is run by its people rather than bureaucrats’ ‘Govt should pay people for their openness to new change’

JAMMU: Asserting that the ‘special circumstances’ under which the Jammu and Kashmir was brought on August 5 last year are almost over, BJP national general secretary and party’s pointman on the strife-torn region Ram Madhav has strongly pitched for restoration of full-fledged political activity in the union territory.
Saying that the process which initiated with the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 almost 10 months ago, has came to a logical end with the notification of rules on J&K domicile, Madhav said that people in Jammu and Kashmir should be paid handsomely for their ‘openness’ to the new status, while urging the G C Murmu-led administration to remove the ban on 4G mobile internet services.
In a reference to bureaucratic rule thriving in J&K since June 2018, Madhav said that it is time that the state is run by its people rather than the proverbial ‘steel frame’.
Welcoming the new domicile rules for J&K, Madhav said that they have brought the process initiated on August 5, 2019, in Jammu and Kashmir to a logical end and said that it is time that such important measures benefitting large sections of the population of the state attract the attention of many who shed ‘garrulous tears over neutralised terrorists and their incarcerated accomplices’.
“..the tragedy with J&K..it has always been seen from either a Pakistan prism or the prism of the terrorists. That there are millions of ordinary people both in Jammu and in Kashmir, who are far removed from terrorism and separatism, and want to lead life as peaceful citizens of the country,” he wrote in a newspaper article.
“The most significant change that has been brought about by the Narendra Modi government was to stop looking at Kashmir from a Pakistani or a terrorist prism. Instead, we started looking at it from the prism of its 12 million inhabitants. August 5, 2019, symbolises that shift in the government’s approach,” he said.
Madhav said that after living under the shadow of Article 370 for seven decades, the people of J&K have decided to give the new status a chance.
Quoting a Kashmiri proverb, Madhav said that from Islamabad to New York, many Islamists and their supporters are like Jackals howling at a feverish pitch against the peaceful shift that Jammu and Kashmir has seen but people here are largely calm.
“That is the reason why the region has been largely quiet in the last nine months. The detractors would attribute this calm to the excessive presence of security forces and arrests of leaders. Except for half-a-dozen senior leaders, most politicians have been released. The presence of security forces too has been rolled back significantly. Even then, people are not on the streets pelting stones and shouting azadi,” he wrote and pitched for restoration of normalcy in various ways.
“It is time the state administration appreciates this and pays the people handsomely for their openness,” Madhav said.
There were certain harsh measures like denial of 4G services, which were necessary under special circumstances, Madhav said.
“They can now be done away with, as the state administration and security apparatus are capable of handling difficult situations,” he said.
“The Constitution allows for the administrative handling of units for some duration under special circumstances. Those circumstances have more or less passed in J&K.
“It is time the UT is allowed full-fledged political activity,” he wrote.
“Full political integration is when the state is run by its people rather than the proverbial ‘steel frame’, explained Madhav.
“And that conclusively conveys the message to the jackals across the border that J&K is fully and integrally India’s and the only dispute to settle is the return of PoK,” he said.