New Delhi, January 29
After Article 370 of the Constitution was abolished, new privileges have ushered for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Friday.
The government was committed to countering all forces challenging India's sovereignty and unity and was taking strong action against those inciting violence in the country, he said.
Addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on the first day of Budget session, Kovind said: “My government is committed to counter the forces challenging the sovereignty and unity of the country at every level. While on one hand, development is being promoted in violence-affected areas, on the other, firm action is being taken against the forces inciting violence.”
The President also underlined that because of the government's twin-approach, the number of incidents involving Naxal violence had declined and the number of Naxal-affected areas were shrinking.
“After the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been empowered with new entitlements. The development-oriented policy of the Central Government has also received wholehearted support from the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Only a few weeks ago, the elections to district councils in Jammu and Kashmir were held successfully for the first time after independence,” Kovind said.
The President said the large-scale participation of voters in the District Development Council (DDC) polls in the Union Territory had shown that Jammu and Kashmir was forging ahead towards a new democratic future at a rapid pace and the grant of new entitlements had empowered the people of the region.
“After the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme, every family of Jammu and Kashmir is assured of free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh. A bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal has also been established in Jammu,” he said.
Kovind said after becoming a Union Territory, elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council were held successfully a few months ago, and now, people of Ladakh were taking decisions related to the development of their region expeditiously.
