Oppn misguiding people of J&K on Article 370, says Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal

Kathua, Sep 30 (IANS) Union Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, has accused the Opposition of misguiding the people of Jammu and Kashmir over Article 370.

“They (the opposition) can’t bring it again (Article 370). They are just misguiding people; the way they did during the Lok Sabha elections by saying that we (the BJP) will finish the constitution. How can the Constitution be finished? Good governance and development — these are the two agendas, based on which we are contesting and will win this election,” Meghwal told reporters here.

While Congress is silent on Article 370, its ally, the National Conference (NC), has promised restoration of the Article in its poll manifesto.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to J&K on August 5, 2019.

Meanwhile, addressing a public rally in Gurez in Bandipore area on Sunday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh slammed NC for promising the restoration of Article 370.

“Only the Central government has the authority to bring it back. After the removal of Article 370, people enthusiastically participated in the elections. This is the message of change in Jammu and Kashmir. Today, the national flag is being hoisted at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk. Today, record numbers of tourists are visiting Kashmir. Kashmir is no longer a terrorist hotspot but a tourism hotspot. Here, two political families only focused on politics. They ruled here for a long time,” he said.

“Today, the youth here are holding computers, not stones. IIM, IIT, and National Colleges will be established here. NC-Congress and PDP have only looted here. They did nothing for the people, only secured their families,” Rajnath Singh added.

The high-stakes campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections concluded on Sunday evening with voting set to take place for 40 constituencies in the third phase.

Of the 40 constituencies, 24 fall under the Jammu division and the remaining in Kashmir.

This election marks the first one in a decade and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

–IANS

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