Union defence minister Rajnath Singh addressed the ‘Jammu Jan Samvad rally’ via video conferencing on Sunday

The defence minister said that by abrogating Article 370, the Bharatiya Janata Party fulfilled its decade-old promise and is committed to the development and growth Jammu and Kashmir.

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday addressed the Jammu Jan Samvad virtual rally and talked about a range of issues. Jammu and Kashmir and the abrogation of Article 370 dominated Singh’s address while he also talked about the Covid-19 crisis, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), India’s defence preparedness and the situation with China.

Singh said that by abrogating Article 370, the Bharatiya Janata Party fulfilled its decade-old promise and is committed to the development and growth Jammu and Kashmir.

“Just wait, soon people of PoK will demand that they want to be with India and not under the rule of Pakistan, and the day this happens, a goal of our Parliament will also be accomplished,” he said.

Here are the highlights from Singh’s address:

• Earlier in Kashmir, protests demanding ‘Kashmir azaadi’ were held and flags of Pakistan and ISIS were seen, but now only Indian flag is seen there.

• Our promise as a party back in the days of Jan Sangha was fulfilled right after we formed the government with a thumping majority last year. Article 370 and 35A were removed within 100 days of forming the government at the Centre.

• In the six years of Modi government, nearly 2 lakh crore rupees have been spent on the development of Jammu and Kashmir.

• If Congress had such affinity with Article 370, why was it still a temporary provision for all these years?

• Our country, in the year 2013, was at ninth spot with respect to the size of its economy, and now it stands at the fifth spot.

• Earlier, at international platforms, most countries used to side with Pakistan over the matter of Kashmir and Article 370, that isn’t the case now.

• Talks underway with China at diplomatic and military level. China too expressed wish to resolve this issue via talks.

• I’d like to inform Opposition that our government won’t keep anyone in the dark. I assure you that we won’t compromise with national pride in any situation.

• Rafale with reach India in July. It will bolster out Air Force. We don’t want to scare anyone, we want to strengthen our defence system for our security and protection.

• Our Government has decided that the import of goods from abroad should be stopped. Our country should not be known as an importing country in the world, but India should be known as an exporting country.