‘EC to take call on J-K elections, statehood after assembly polls’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will come up after assembly polls and that a call on the timing of elections will be taken by the Election Commission.
Shah also said there has been improvement in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and terrorism-related figures were at their lowest. Shah said Article 370 pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, which was abrogated by the BJP-led government in 2019, had harmed the country.
He said the way development is taking place in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorism is gradually ending.
“See all the figures, there is a lot of change in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Answering queries, Shah said the government has been effective in tacking Left Wing Extremism and has kept a close watch on the activities of Khalistan sympathisers.
The minister said he cannot comment on the timing of the polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I had clearly stated that statehood will be restored in Jammu and Kashmir after elections. Process of preparation of voters’ list is nearing completion in the UT. Now, the Election Commission has to take a call on elections,” he said.
Asked about his earlier statement mentioning the emergence of new leadership in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said that new leadership will emerge from local bodies where polls had been held earlier.
“The panchs and sarpanchs who have been elected, new leadership will emerge from them…Since the time terrorism started in Jammu & Kashmir, the terrorism-related figures are at its lowest today. Crores of tourists and yatris are visiting Jammu and Kashmir now. This is a huge change,” he said. 
“Since 1950, it was on our agenda to remove Art 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Today, the way Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing development and decrease in terrorism shows that changes that are coming,As far as elections are concerned, do they not remember the local body polls these did not take place for 70 years. Three families were holding sway in Jammu and Kashmir and they are making noise..,” he said. .