Srinagar: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday called up Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, to reassure “all possible” support to her in the effort to take the state on the path of peace and development.
Soon after returning home from an official visit to Saudi Arabia, Modi talked with Mufti over phone to congratulate her on assuming charge as Jammu and Kashmir’s first woman Chief Minister at the head of PDP-BJP coalition government and said she has full support of his government.
Confirming it, Mufti said, “The Prime Minister called me this morning, immediately on his return from Saudi Arabia, reassuring me of full support from the Government of India in mitigating the sufferings of the people of J&K.”
The Chief Minister thanked the Prime Minister for extending her his and his team’s support and said that Modi and her late father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed had a shared vision for the peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir.
She said her government would work with fresh resolve towards implementing that vision on ground so that the people of the State could reap the fruits of globalization and economic liberalization like their counterparts in other states of the country. “When I met the Prime Minister in New Delhi recently, he told me that Mufti Sahib’s vision is the only way to end the problems in and around Jammu and Kashmir,” she said and reiterated that the PDP-BJP government has the full support of the Prime Minister and his team.
Mufti said, however, peace and harmony is imperative for any positive initiative to take shape and have an impact on the ground. “J&K essentially has huge stakes in peace, harmony and stability, as people both in Kashmir and Jammu regions have to suffer enormous human tragedies and economic losses because of the hostility,” he said adding, “While people living along the borders in Jammu region suffer and live under the constant threat of cross-border shelling, the people in Kashmir Valley are suffering because of the continued internal strife and recurrent violence.” She asserted that peace along the borders in Jammu region and within the mainland in Kashmir is key to development and progress.
Speaking at a gathering of her supporters who turned up at her official residence in winter capital Jammu to congratulate her on assuming office, she said addressing the genuine political, economic and security concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is an issue which goes beyond power politics and requires a decisive political will at various levels.
“We shall have to take decisive measures to end the scenario of despair and trust deficit,” she said and added that the most daring challenge for her government is to be with the people and reach out to them.
“We shall have to respond to and determinedly work towards mitigating the complex problems of J&K, faced as it is with decades’ long political uncertainty, economic deprivation, development deficit and mounting unemployment,” she said.
She added that despite passing through the darkest era of its history, the main source of the State’s confidence is the substantial potential of building upon its young and enterprising human resource.
“It is heartening to note that even after having gone through the most difficult times, our young boys and girls are doing us proud in whatever field they take a plunge,” she said and added that the J&K’s young population has suffered immensely due to the conflict and our youth now need to connect with the larger world outside to grab the opportunities available to their counterparts elsewhere.
The Chief Minister further said that the PDP-BJP combine’s ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ is not a pact between two political parties but it is an agenda of more than one billion people of the country to usher Jammu and Kashmir into an era of peace, stability and prosperity.
Read: Mufti was asked to form govt or make way for PDP rebels: Omar Abdullah
“Productive development and inclusive prosperity is possible only in an environment of peace and stability which necessitates that not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir but that of the whole country join this new enterprise of hope to pull the State out of the morass and resolutely address the challenges confronting it,” she asserted.
She assured the people that in a democratic setup the power lies with them and they will be given due respect. She said the doors of her ministers and civil servants should remain always open for the common people.
“If any minister and other government functionary fails to respond effectively to genuine problems of the people, the complainants should directly approach my office,” she said, promising effective action on such genuine issues that are brought to her notice.
