Ramban: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has made a big statement in Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) should join India, we consider them our own. Rajnath made this statement while addressing an election rally in Ramban.

As long as BJP is there, no one can restore Article 370: Rajnath

Rajnath said the Congress-NC alliance says it will restore Article 370 but as long as the BJP is there, nobody can do it. He said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has changed, the youth now have laptops and computers instead of pistols and revolvers.

What else did Rajnath say?

Rajnath said that after ten years, assembly elections are being held in Jammu and Kashmir. The whole of India and the whole world are watching the elections being held here. People in Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of their rights for a long time. In this assembly election, refugees from Pakistan, our Valmiki community, and families of sanitation workers have got the right to vote in local body elections for the first time.

Rajnath said that the years-old demand of the Valmiki community to get the benefit of the SC category has been fulfilled. For the first time, seats have been reserved for the ST community in the assembly. The change we are seeing in Kashmir Valley is being seen by the whole world today. Last year, when G-20 was organized in India, one of its meetings was also successfully organized in Srinagar.

Rajnath said that Jammu and Kashmir which was earlier known as a terrorism spot in the whole country has become a tourism hotspot today. After three and a half decades, for the first time, the Tazia procession was taken out in Srinagar. Earlier, it used to take a long time to travel from Jammu to Srinagar. But now one can reach Srinagar from Jammu in four and a half hours. The government of Pakistan considers POK as a foreign land. Pakistan's ASG himself has said this in an affidavit. Whereas we consider the people of POK as our own.

Rajnath said that the BJP has said in its Sankalp Patra that every Ujjwala Yojana beneficiary in Jammu and Kashmir will be given two cylinders free of cost in a year. Children studying in higher secondary classes in remote areas will be given tablets or laptops. We have resolved that both Jammu and Srinagar cities will be given metro rail connectivity. A beautiful riverfront will be built on the Tawi River. Some areas of Ramban and Banihal will be developed as tourist destinations.

Rajnath said that BJP has resolved that we will expedite the safe return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. Similarly, we will expedite the rehabilitation of refugees from West Pakistan, refugees from POJK, and people from the Valmiki and Gorkha communities.