Democracy reached J&K grassroots: Shah

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that after the removal of Article 370 and 35A from Kashmir, for the first time democracy has reached the grassroots level.

Addressing the  “Kashmir Mahotsav” organised by Indian Institute of Sustainability, Gujarat Univer sity through video conferencing today, he said that Kashmir is the melting-pot of many cultures and a jewel in the crown of Mother India. He said that changes taking place are important not only for children, but also for entire youth.

Noting that last year around 1.80 crore tourists visited Kashmir, he said they got to know Kashmiriyat and Kashmir culture and went back with a good message.

The minister also said that there was a time when bomb blasts, strike and stone pelting used to happen in Kashmir, but today due to the changes brought under the leadership of PM Modi, the youth of Kashmir have books and laptops in their hands, they also have a new thinking for Start-Ups and potential to challenge the youth of the world.

“Today over 30,000 elected representatives of the people are working in the panchayat system of Kashmir. The entire nation is happy with these changes brought by PM Shri Narendra Modi in the last 9 years,” Mr Shah said.

The home minister also said that Gujarat University is the University of  Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Shri Narendra Modi, many great personalities have been produced by this university who have made significant contributions for nation building. The country's first innovation park was established in Gujarat University and currently it is supporting more than 300 start-ups.

He said that recently the Union cabinet, under the leadership of PM Modi has decided that in the next three years, Multidimensional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) will be constituted in two lakh panchayats of the country which will give new dimensions of rural development to the Panchayats, adding that the Ministry of Cooperation is working with the state governments to for these multi-purpose PACS at the grassroots level.

Calling upon the youth to take forward the start-up movement in Kashmir as well, he further said that PM  Modi launched the ‘Make in India’ scheme in 2015 and as a result India's merchandise exports have crossed US dollar 400 crore in the financial year 2022. He said that under the PLI scheme, new investment worth Rs three lakh crore has come in 12 sectors, adding that the facilities have also been provided for ‘Patent Registration’ for the youth of India.