People voted for ‘strengthening democracy’ in J&K, says PM Modi on recently-concluded DDC polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on Saturday on the recently-concluded District Development Committee (DDC) election in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). “The people of J&K have voted for strengthening democracy in Jammu and Kashmir,” the Prime Minister said, ANI reported.

People of all walks of life came out and voted in the DDC election, he said, adding that the people of J&K have won Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of ‘gram swaraj’, ANI reported.

Also read: J&K DDC election results declared, BJP single-largest party with 75 seats

Speaking on Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former alliance with Mehmooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the PM said, “there was a time, we were a part of the Jammu and Kashmir government but we broke the alliance.”

“Our issue was that panchayat elections should be held and people be given their due rights to choose their representatives,” he added.

The saffron party forged the alliance with PDP following the Assembly election in 2014 in the erstwhile state. Mufti’s party emerged as the single-largest party but had failed to cross the majority mark.

Taking a swipe at Congress, the PM said that despite Supreme Court’s direction that local body polls should be held in Puducherry, elections were not being conducted. 

“Those who keep on teaching me lessons on democracy are the ones who are running the government there,” he said.

The BJP pulled out of the alliance in 2018, leading to Mufti’s resignation as the erstwhile state’s Chief Minister. 

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The PM spoke after launching the Ayushman Bharat health scheme in J&K. He hailed it as “a very historic day” for the union territory, as everyone would benefit from the scheme, the PM said. 

Modi unveiled the scheme via video-conferencing. Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha were present during the launch.