Union minister Amit Shah chairs review meeting in Srinagar

Union home minister Amit Shah, on Wednesday chaired a security review meeting with senior officials in Sri Nagar.

The home minister is currently on a visit to the Union territory.  J-K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and other senior officials, including J-K Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, top officials of the Army, paramilitary forces, state police and civil administration, were present in the meeting.

On the last day of his visit, the second since the abrogation of Article 370, Shah also addressed a meeting at Baramulla where he lambasted National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on their demands that centre should talk to Pakistan. He said that rather, he would prefer to talk to the youth of Jammu and Kahmir.

He is also expected to lay foundation stones of several development projects in the Union territory.

On Tuesday, the home minister visited the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra to offer prayers. He was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Minister Jitendra Singh. His visit coincides with the ninth day of the ongoing Navratri festival.

He addressed a public meeting in the afternoon at Rajouri “Today’s rally in Jammu and Kashmir, slogans of ‘Modi, Modi’, all of these are answers to those who used to say that if Article 370 is removed, there will be a fire in Jammu and Kashmir, rivers of blood will flow,” said Shah.

The Home Minister said that the Gujjar, Bakarwal, and Pahari communities will be soon given reservations. He also said that reservations are possible because of the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A. In 2019, the two laws were repealed in parliament.