Cong accuses center of violating JK’s executive authority | Political news

“By curtailing the police and administrative powers of the Jammu and Kashmir executive, the Ministry of Home Affairs has seriously jeopardised the functioning of the future government of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He asked why if the Central Government was sincere in its desire to give full power to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, it continued to curtail the powers of the future state government.

Ramesh also asked why if the Union Government’s actions are popular, the BJP and its proxies are still rejected by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“When the BJP revoked Article 370 with much fanfare in 2019, it repeatedly argued that these actions were popular among the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the unbiological prime minister refused to visit Jammu and Kashmir after 2019 till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

He alleged that the BJP refused to contest the Lok Sabha elections in the Kashmir Valley, instead indirectly supporting candidates fielded through its proxies.

“However, all three proxies fared poorly, scoring zero in the Lok Sabha and securing a lead in only one Vidhan Sabha segment. If the Union government’s performance is popular, why are the BJP and its proxies constantly being rejected by the people of J&K?” Ramesh said.

He asked why the federal government is unable to attract investment to JK, even in the lithium mining sector.

“The government of the prime minister, who is not a biologist, stirred up a lot of excitement, and rightly so, with the discovery of almost six million tonnes of lithium in the Salal-Haimana area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district. However, a year later, it had to abandon two rounds of auctions of mining rights in the area because it failed to generate sufficient investor interest,” he said.

Ramesh noted that lithium is among the most sought-after minerals of the 21st century and plays a key role in the energy transformation.

Investors around the world are frantically trying to secure reliable access to lithium mining rights, the congressional leader added.

“It is not a lack of financial interest that prevents investors from taking an interest in Reasi’s lithium reserves, it is the unstable security situation in the region,” he said.

Ramesh pointed out that in July 2024 alone, twelve soldiers were killed in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, while on June 9, 2024, a brutal attack on a civilian bus took place in Reasi itself.

“The repeated message of the non-biological Prime Minister and his ministers since August 5, 2019, has been that his actions will stabilise the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and provide a boost to investments in the region. So why has his government failed to do so?” he said.

The elections in Jammu and Kashmir are being held in three phases. Polling for 24 seats was held in the first phase on Wednesday. Then, polling for 26 seats will be held in the second phase on September 25.

Voting for the 40 seats in the third phase will take place on October 1, while the counting of votes will take place on October 8.

First published: Sep 19, 2024 | 12:04 PM IST