The effusive praise lavished on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the opening of Sonamarg Z-Morh tunnel on Monday may not sound sweet to Rahul Gandhi’s ears, given the fact that Omar Abdullah and his party National Conference are still part of Congress-led INDIA alliance.
Omar Abdullah said, “On the International Yoga Day event in Srinagar last year, Modi had promised to bridge the gap between dil (heart) and Dilli (Delhi), and he has proved it. The trust of the people of Kashmir in Modi has increased because he has kept his words … You fulfilled your promise of holding assembly elections, and there were free and fair elections in Kashmir, without any interference…The people are asking me when would Jammu & Kashmir get back its statehood. My heart is saying that very soon you will fulfil your third promise on statehood.”
Responding to Omar’s remarks, Prime Minister Modi said, “Yeh Modi hai, Waada karta hai toh nibhaata hai. Har kaam ka ek samay hai, aur sahi samay par sahi kaam hone wale hain. (Modi always keeps his promises. There’s a time for everything, and right things will happen at the right time)”.
Modi said, Jammu & Kashmir is marching towards progress. A new railway division has been created for Jammu, the Sonamarg tunnel is ready, work on Zozila tunnel is progressing fast, and the world’s tallest bridge over river Chenab is ready. Schools, colleges, hospitals, theatres, hotels and stadiums are functioning in the Valley, and the air of joy has returned to the Valley. The credit goes to the people of Kashmir who rejected terrorism and supported democracy. Kashmir is the crown of India and we want the crown should shine bright.”
The entire project is 12 km long and will be completed at a cost of Rs 2700 crore. A parallel tunnel and 7.5 metre wide exit road has been built in cases of emergency. This tunnel is part of the all-weather connectivity project that links Srinagar to Leh in Ladakh. The distance between Srinagar and Leh will be reduced from 49 km to 43 km. Tourists can access Sonamarg round the year for winter sports.
What the J&K chief minister said in the presence of Prime Minister Modi was 100 per cent correct. The situation in J&K has changed fast in the last five years. After a gap of nearly 40 years, people are going to multiplexes to watch films. Hospitals, rural roads have been built. Smart classes have begun in schools. This has changed the life of the average citizen. The commoner in the Valley has regained his trust in the system. Voters took part in the recent Lok Sabha and assembly polls in large numbers. There was record voting at several polling stations.
Omar Abdullah’s government is working in tandem with the Centre and this has shown good results on the ground. Like Delhi, J&K is a Union Territory. Omar Abdullah has the same powers as Chief Minister like Arvind Kejriwal. For ten years, Kejriwal spent much of his time blaming the Centre and Prime Minister Modi. The Lt. Governor also stopped several schemes initiated by Kejriwal, but the ultimate losers were the people of Delhi.
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