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NEW DELHI: Asserting that the growing tourism is a “living example” of the ‘Change in Jammu & Kashmir’, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here on sunday that the UT has seen a footfall of more than two crore tourists in the last one year.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “And that has happened because terrorism has declined. Previously due to growing terrorism, not many tourists used to visit Kashmir,” he added.
Responding to a question on the opposition’s allegations that BJP is against the elections in J&K, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear several times in the Parliament that elections will be held at an appropriate time.
Citing Supreme Court’s rule on the elections, he said, “Now the Supreme Court has even ordered that the elections in Jammu & Kashmir should be conducted by September and the Home Minister has also stated that. If Congress is still alleging that BJP doesn’t want the elections to be conducted, whose words will they believe now?”
The Minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party does not run away from elections and the party is ready for elections whenever the Election Commission decides.
In response to a question on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra’, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Congress leader had earlier also undertaken a journey from South to North, but the benefit of it couldn’t be comprehended.
“They had taken out a yatra from South to North and if they would have reviewed its impact before starting, that would’ve been better. Now they will be heading from West to East. Don’t know what they are going to think when they come out. But now they think that by adopting the working style of Bharatiya Janata Party, they will earn some credibility, then credit should be given to BJP for this.
When asked whether the biggest challenge for the BJP in the 2024 elections is Congress or regional parties, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said, “I do not think that any party is in a position to give a serious challenge to the BJP at this time.” But the Bharatiya Janata Party takes every election seriously.”
The Minister asserted that no party is a challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He further underlined that the previous governments in Jammu & Kashmir had kept the people of the region deprived of development due to their politics of appeasement.
