In 7 years, Narendra Modi govt solved problems including Article 370, Ayodhya dispute: Amit Shah

“Without a drop of blood being shed, the job of abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir was achieved by the government. Without a drop of blood being shed, the complex issue of Ram Janmabhoomi was resolved. A lot of decisions were taken…there is no sphere where in the past seven years comprehensive change has not been brought,” Shah said, addressing an event by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in New Delhi.

Article 370 of the Constitution gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status. In August 2019, the government effectively revoked the special status and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union territories: J&K and Ladakh.

Addressing the 94th Annual Convention of @ficci_india.#FICCIAGM #IndiaBeyond75 https://t.co/seHYq5yJKn

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 17, 2021

In November 2019, the Supreme Court paved the way for construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site of Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid once stood. While awarding the land to Ram Lalla, it also directed the Centre to allot an alternate land to the Sunni Waqf Board in the town for the construction of a mosque.

“There are governments which run for 50 years and take five decisions that can change an era. This government has run for five years, and taken 50 decisions that will change the era,” Shah said.

He conceded there may be a “possibility” that the Centre took some “wrong decisions”, but added that the government’s motive was never under question. The Home Minister did not specify further.

Hitting out the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments, Shah said: “At least there has not been a single charge of corruption against this government. It is possible some decision was wrong. Several decisions are made, some may go wrong also. But no one can say that our intention, or the reason and foundation for taking the decision was wrong.”

The Minister spoke of Covid-19 vaccinations and the measures taken by the government to blunt the blow of the pandemic on the Indian economy.

“Today Indian economy is the fastest to come out of the effects of the pandemic. And with pace… we have reached pre-covid stage. I believe in 2021-22 India will be the fastest growing economy in the world,” he said.

Shah added that the government had some expectations from FICCI.

“We all know unless we put money into research and development, investments will not come… FICCI should discuss internally where it wants to see the Indian industry in the next 25 years and what needs to be done for it now,” he said.

Addressing the issue of unemployment, he said, “India has many problems, one of which is its population. Until we promote MSMEs we will not be able to address the issue of employment. We must take up these issues now and prepare a roadmap for the next 25 years.”