J&K youth picking up computers instead of stones after Article 370 was abrogated: Amit Shah

“They (politicians) were saying that abrogation of Article 370 won’t impact J&K affairs, but today everything has changed. There is a lot of improvement in the law-and-order situations. Stone pelting has ended, hartals are over, innocent killings have been contained, development has taken pace, people are living peacefully,” he said, urging new appointees to carry forward this change.

He also praised measures by the Modi government to contain terrorism. “Prime Minister Modi has done a commendable job. The terror finance channels in J&K have been nailed and properties and other assets of those involved are being attached. Further, ideological groups supporting terrorism have been banned in J&K, which led to a drastic change on the ground,” he said.

Since the abrogation of Article 370, he said, there has been a 70% decline in terrorism-related incidents, 81% reduction in civilian deaths, and 48% decline in deaths of security personnel. “This shows that a new era of happiness and peace has begun in Jammu & Kashmir,” he said. There were 2,654 incidents of organised stone pelting and 132 incidents of organised strikes in 2010, which were reduced to zero in 2023, he pointed out. He added that in 2010, 112 civilians died and 6,235 were injured in stone pelting, he said.

The Home Minister also took a dig at local politicians, saying that earlier it was impossible to get a job without a political recommendation or corruption. He said that since August 2019, 34,440 vacancies have been filled. He also exhorted the youth to register their names in electoral rolls and become part of the democratic process.