Jammu And Kashmir Elections: ‘Come And Join India’; Rajnath Singh To PoK Residents

Ramban: “Unlike Pakistan, India considers the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as their own,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday, September 8. He urged them to join India.

Rajnath Singh said this while addressing a rally in the Ramban area of Jammu on Sunday, as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the upcoming assembly polls in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

“I ask all of you to form a BJP government in J&K, and after seeing development in J&K, the people of PoK will say that we do not want to stay with Pakistan. We want to go with India,” Singh said.

“People in Pakistan consider PoK people as foreigners, but India considers the people of PoK as our own. Come and join us,” he added.

On the abrogation of Article 370, Singh said that it was done for the prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir and the BJP has not discriminated against the people of the Union Territory.

“We have never discriminated against anyone. Our Army is here. I want to ask you, do they discriminate? You people are fortunate; we have abrogated Article 370. We have done that for the prosperity and happiness of J&K. What did Article 370 give to you?”

“Be it Congress, National Conference, or People’s Democratic Party (PDP), they tell you that the BJP has discriminated against the people of J&K (by abrogating Article 370). I want to tell you, if we do anything wrong, condemn it publicly. We don’t want your support by keeping you in the dark,” said the defence minister claiming that Jammu and Kashmir would become the number one state of India in case the BJP remained in power for 10 years there.

“I say with confidence that if the BJP government runs here for 10 years, our Jammu and Kashmir will become the number one state of India. Our India, which was at the 11th place in the world in terms of the size of the economy, has reached the 5th place today. I am not saying this; the world’s leading economists and big financial firms are now claiming that India is progressing at such a fast pace. By 2027, our India will stand in third place among the countries of the world in terms of the size of the economy,” Rajnath Singh said.

Polling in Jammu and Kashmir for 90 assembly constituencies would be held in three phases, September 18, September 25, and October 1 and the counting of votes will take place on October 8.

(With ANI inputs)