Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first public speech since the scrapping of Article 370, on Friday tried to reach out to ordinary Kashmiri people by promising to restore full statehood at the earliest. Modi said that the people of J&K will get the opportunity to elect their MLAs and a chief minister, once normalcy sets in and assembly elections are held.

In his speech, the Prime Minister described how the people, panchayats and state government employees of Jammu and Kashmir were being deprived of the benefits of Central schemes and laws because of Article 370. Modi however made it clear that the region of Ladakh will continue to have the status of a union territory.

One key thing that the PM said in his speech was that every Indian citizen should come forward to convince our Kashmiri brethren that they are now part of the mainstream and are co-partners in the march towards progress.

I would appeal to all Indians to tell every Kashmiri they meet that the promises made by our PM for the upliftment of their region will be fulfilled and they will no more feel alienated because of hindrances that had been placed by history in the form of Art. 370.

While security forces will continue to do their job of eliminating terrorists in the Valley, it is the duty of every Indian to tell our Kashmiri brethren that they will now enjoy the fruits of development which they had been deprived of till now because of Art. 370.

It was this Article that had created a schism, a wall between Kashmiris and the rest of Indians. It is our duty to ensure that this sense of alienation created over the years is removed and Kashmiris are brought into the national mainstream. We must tell common Kashmiris whom we meet on the streets that our hearts beat for them.

We should tell ordinary Kashmiris that they have suffered enough because of being deprived of benefits due to Article 370, and that the time has now come to script a new history. We should contribute our mite in ushering a new era of peace and progress for the people of Kashmir.

This new era in Kashmir will surely witness a plethora of schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, trains and highways, and the ‘jannat’ (heaven) that had been bedeviled because of violence and terrorism, will truly became a paradise for all. Kashmir will surely become a heaven on earth where people of all religions can live and breath freely in an atmosphere free from hatred and rancour.

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