J&K staring at bankruptcy, Articles 370, 35A did maximum damage to Kashmir: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the problem in Jammu and Kashmir is that a handful of families in the state have made it a “tool of blackmail”. PM Modi said even before coming to power, we [BJP] knew the “right approach” on Kashmir.

PM Narendra Modi said this during an exclusive interview in Varanasi on the day he filed his nomination papers.

PM Modi said Articles 370 and 35A have done “maximum damage” to Kashmir.
“We set up AIIMS and IIM in Kashmir but top professors are not ready to go there because they can’t buy property there. The rents there are very high. There is no investment in J&K because investors feel they won’t get land there.”

He said the youth in Kashmir are not getting jobs. “Kashmir is staring at bankruptcy. Terrorists have finished tourism in the state. There is no investment because of Articles 370 and 35A. Now, people in Kashmir feel there is a need for change,” he said.

When asked about the BJP’s promise of removing Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, PM Modi said, “People who talk of secession have no right to fight elections. J&K has been part of India for thousands of years. Questions should be asked to those who talk about secession.”

Terming the PDP-BJP alliance as a mistake, PM Modi said it was “our mahamilawat [grand adulteration]”. “The verdict was such that alliance with PDP was the only choice.”

Hitting out the Kashmir-centric parties (PDP and National Conference), PM Modi said, “These handful of families [Abdullahs and Muftis] speak one language in Kashmir and another in Delhi.”
“I am exposing their doublespeak,” he claimed, adding that development work is on in the state.