Amit Shah Begins 3-Day J-K Visit With BJP Meeting; Congress Demands ‘Timeline’ For Statehood Restoration

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday evening to begin a three-day visit, his first since the formation of the National Conference-led government under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in October last year.

According to officials cited by news agency PTI, Shah was received at the technical airport by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and senior BJP leaders. During his visit, the Home Minister will review the security situation and development initiatives in the Union Territory and is expected to visit a forward post along the India-Pakistan border.

On Sunday night, Shah is visiting the BJP headquarters at Trikuta Nagar in Jammu to attend a meeting of party MLAs and other office-bearers. His visit coincides with the party’s 46th foundation day celebrations, which were marked with great enthusiasm by BJP leaders and activists earlier in the day.

Security forces have been placed on high alert in view of Shah’s visit, officials added.

On Monday, Shah is expected to visit the BSF Border Outpost Vinay in Kathua to assess the ground situation. Later, he will meet family members of Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel who were martyred in the line of duty and hand over appointment letters to some of them selected on compassionate grounds at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu.

On April 8, Shah will head to Srinagar, where he will review various development programmes and the overall security situation at two meetings to be held at the Raj Bhavan, as per official sources cited by PTI.

Earlier on Sunday, BJP’s J&K unit president Sat Sharma hoisted the party flag at the headquarters in the presence of senior leaders including MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta, and Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly Sunil Sharma. According to a party spokesperson, party flags were also hoisted at all organisational district headquarters, BJP offices, and at the rooftops of BJP activists’ houses across the Union Territory.

Shah ‘Should Give Timeline For Restoration Of Statehood During His Visit': Jammu-Kashmir Congress 

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress party urged the Home Minister to provide a timeline for the restoration of statehood to the region. Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma demanded that Shah address the issue during his visit, as per PTI.

“The Home Minister should give a timeline during his visit for the restoration of statehood to J-K. The people want the statehood restoration at the earliest,” said Sharma, noting that the Congress has been consistently demanding the restoration in line with the Centre’s repeated assurances.

He said the dual system of governance under the Union Territory status is “harmful to the interests of common people” and contributing to political unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

Highlighting what he described as a “grim” security situation in the Jammu region, Sharma criticised the alleged “utter failure” of the Home Ministry to control the rise in terrorist incidents. He pointed to several attacks in recent years, including the killing of seven members of a minority community in Rajouri’s Dangri area in January 2023 and a spate of attacks on Army and security forces, resulting in multiple casualties.

“The terrorism was almost wiped out in the Jammu region by the previous governments,” he stated, as quoted PTI.

Sharma also questioned the BJP’s performance on national security, noting that while the party criticised the Congress-led UPA government over cross-border infiltration and terror incidents, it must now answer why terrorism could not be curbed in the last 11 years of its rule. He added that the Congress does not politicise terrorism and stands firmly with the armed forces in combating the threat.

The Congress leader further criticised the government for its alleged failure to ensure the dignified return of Kashmiri migrants to the Valley, citing unfulfilled promises of increased financial aid, better facilities, and job opportunities.

Sharma also accused the BJP of pursuing divisive politics and claimed that “Muslims and other minorities are feeling isolated by the communal actions of the ruling party,” which he said undermines India’s “unity in diversity.”

Referring to the recent passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, he said it was an “assault on the basic spirit of secularism and the constitutional guarantee of equality, religious freedom, and non-interference of the state in religious affairs.”

“It has shaken the confidence of minority Muslims who have developed a feeling that this government wants them to be treated like second-class citizens in the country,” Sharma added.

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