Lok Sabha elections 2024: 'This election is to elect a strong government,' says PM Modi in J-K's Udhampur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur on Friday as a star campaigner for Union Minister Jitendra Singh. Addressing the rally he said that this election is to elect a strong government. Ahead of his rally, the authorities activated multi-tier security setup, including a ban on flying of drones.

The PM said, "Modi thinks far ahead. So what has happened so far is just the trailer. I have to get busy in creating a new and wonderful picture of the new Jammu and Kashmir. The time is not far when Assembly Elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir will get the status of statehood. You will be able to share your dreams with your MLA and your ministers."

 

"For the sake of power, they had built a wall of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Due to your blessings, Modi demolished the wall of Article 370. I have also buried the debris of that wall in the ground. I challenge any political party in India, especially Congress, to announce that they will bring back Article 370. This country won't even look at them," he said.

 

He said, "This election is not just to elect MPs but this is an election to form a strong government in the country. When the govt is strong, it completes the works by challenging the challenges." He further said, "I had told you to trust me and I will solve the problems of 60 years. I had guaranteed respect for the mothers and sisters here. I gave a guarantee that the poor would not have to worry about two meals a day. Today lakhs of families of Jammu and Kashmir have the guarantee of free ration for the next 5 years."

"Modi ki guarantee yani guarantee pura hone ki guarantee. You remember how the weak governments of Congress kept the Shahpurkandi Dam stalled for decades. The fields of the farmers of Jammu were dry and the villages were in darkness, but our water of Ravi was going to Pakistan. Modi had given a guarantee to the farmers and has fulfilled it also," PM Modi said in Udhampur.

Singh is seeking re-election for the third consecutive time from Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur Lok Sabha seat in the first phase of the elections.

Security beefed up in Udhampur

A multi-tier security arrangement was put in place for the safe and secure conduct of the rally, they said. This includes elaborate deployments, area domination, checkpoints and alertness in areas and vigilance on vital installations in the region by various security agencies. The officials said the security personnel have been put on duty along the Jammu-Udhampur highway and vital junctions amid setting up of additional checkpoints to monitor the commuters.

Frisking has been intensified at major spots on the highway, they added. Udhampur District Magistrate Saloni Rai on Thursday issued an order prohibiting the flying of any kind of aviation devices, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and drones, in the district. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Udhampur to address a public meeting tomorrow and various necessary arrangements are being undertaken by the administration as per the SoP for the safe and secure conduct of the rally," Rai said in the order.

"In view of the emerging security threats due to the recent trends of using drones as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by the anti-national elements, it is imperative to strengthen security measures to maintain law and order," she added. The district magistrate said the Udhampur senior superintendent of police shall ensure the implementation of this order to prohibit the flying of any kind of aviation devices.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Security, Shamsheer Hussain, also issued an advisory for people to arrive on time for smooth entry before the start of the programme before 10 am. This is Prime Minister Modi's third visit to Jammu and Kashmir in over one and a half months. He addressed big rallies while inaugurating several development projects on February 20 and March 7 in Jammu and Srinagar cities.

Supreme Court sets deadline for elections in Jammu and Kashmir

Last year in December, the top court had directed the Eelction Commission of India to hold polls in Jammu and Kashmir by Septemer 30, 2024. The decision was part of the verdict on pleas challenging the scrapping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The top court upheld the government's decision to scrap Article 370, and said steps should be taken to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest. 

Four years after its revocation, Article 370 has taken center stage in the poll campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, more so in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency where Union Minister Jitendra Singh is seeking re-election for the third time. The seat is seeing a triangular fight with the Congress fielding Choudhary Lal Singh and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) pitting three-time ex-MLA G M Saroori against the senior BJP leader.

Polling in the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency will be held in the first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on April 19. Jitendra Singh had retained the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat in 2019, defeating Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh, the grandson of erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh, by a margin of 3,53,272 votes. Lal Singh only got 19,049 votes. In 2014, he had defeated former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad by a margin of 60,976 votes.

(With inputs from PTI) 

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