Union Home Minister Amit Shah has firmly rejected any possibility of restoring Kashmir Article 370, calling it a matter of the past and emphasizing that it will never return. During a two-day visit to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Shah addressed the region, unveiling the BJP’s election manifesto ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Amit Shah criticized opposition parties, particularly the National Conference (NC) and Congress, for advocating the restoration of Kashmir Article 370 and 35-A, which previously granted special status to the region. “Article 370 is history. It only brought guns and stones into the hands of Kashmir’s youth,” Shah stated.
Amit Shah also made Pakistan a central topic of his speech, reiterating that India would not engage in dialogue until cross-border terrorism ceases. He emphasized, “Talks and bombs cannot go together. We will not talk to Pakistan, but we will offer Kashmir’s youth a path to peace and development.”
Highlighting the impact of the Kashmir Article 370 revocation, Shah pointed out a significant drop in terror-related incidents, with a 70% decrease since 2014. He further noted that civilian deaths have reduced by 80%, and stone-pelting incidents have ceased entirely since 2019. He credited this period, from 2014 to 2024, as a transformative decade for Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah also criticised past governments for bowing to separatist pressures under Kashmir Article 370, stressing that today, peace prevails, tourism is thriving, and the sound of guns has been silenced. He highlighted the record-breaking pilgrimages to Amarnath Yatra and Vaishno Devi in recent years.
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As Assembly elections loom, Shah urged voters to give the BJP a five-year mandate to continue the development initiatives started after the revocation of Kashmir Article 370.
