‘Article 370 Wasn’t Agenda Of People’: PM Modi Says Voter Turnout in Kashmir Lok Sabha Polls Sends Strong Message To World

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday talked about Article 370 which was scrapped in 2019 and said it was neither the agenda of the people of Kashmir nor of the country but only of ‘four-five families’. PM Modi went on to say it is a matter of great satisfaction for him that the brothers and sisters in Kashmir came forward to vote with great enthusiasm in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Article 370 was the agenda of only four-five families, it was neither the agenda of the people of Kashmir nor the agenda of the people of the country. For their benefit, they had built such a wall of 370 and used to say that if 370 is removed, there will be a fire…Today it has become true that after the removal of 370, there is a feeling of more unity. The feeling of belongingness is increasing among the people of Kashmir and hence its direct result is also visible in elections, tourism,” PM Modi said.

Feeling of More Unity After Removal of Article 370

In an exclusive interview with ANI, PM Modi said there is a feeling of more unity with the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the feeling of belongingness is increasing and the result is visible in the elections and in the increase in tourism.

It should be noted that the Modi government abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, months after it came to office for the second successive term.

PM Modi further noted that the people in Kashmir warmly welcomed the delegates during events related to the G20 summit.

Record Voter Turnout in Kashmir Lok Sabha Polls

Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituencies in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir saw record turnout in Lok Sabha polls held in different phases earlier this month.

Srinagar recorded 38.49 per cent polling, Baramulla 59.1 per cent and Anantnag-Rajouri 51.35 per cent as of 5 pm on April 25, the day the polling was held on the seat. The polling has been highest since 1989. These were the first Lok Sabha elections in Jamu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

Decisions Of Central Govt Always For Good Cause

He added that the government’s decisions were always for a good cause. “First of all, I would like to pray to the justice system of our country that if the government wants to do any work, they have a design, strategy to do that work. To solve such problems, work had to be done under that strategy. Now sometimes I had to shut down the internet for that. Some NGO went to court and it became a big issue in the court but today the children there proudly say that the internet has not been shut down for the last 5 years and we have been getting all the facilities for the last 5 years. There was some pain for a few days, but it was for a good cause… It is very important to save the country from such NGOs,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that enthusiastic participation of voters in Lok Sabha polls has given a message to the world and “those who had doubts”.