Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, a new era has begun for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with the revocation of Article 370. Addressing the nation this evening, the Prime Minister said, the dream of Sardar Patel, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Dr Shayam Prasad Mookerjee, Atal Bihar Vajpayee and crores of patriots has now been fulfilled.

He said, as a nation, the country has taken a historic decision. The people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladhak were not able to avail benefits of various rights which was a major obstacle in their development. He congratulated people of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and the whole nation.

The Prime Minister said, when some things are there forever, it is presumed that they will never change or go away and Article 370 was something similar. He said, no one was discussing the harm inflicted due to Article 370 on the people of Jammu and Kashmir and nobody could tell the benefits it was providing to the people of this region.

Mr Modi said, in other States of the country, the Minority Act is in force to protect the interests of minorities, but this was not the case in Jammu and Kashmir. He said, likewise, the Minimum Wages Act is in force to protect the interests of workers in other states, but in Jammu and Kashmir it was available only on paper.

The Prime Minister stated that sanitation workers come under the sanitation worker act in other states, but workers from Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of it. In many states, strong laws are their to stop atrocities against dalits, but this was not the case in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Modi said, in the new system, it will be the priority of the central government that the employees of the state, the Jammu and Kashmir police, get equal facilities at par with the employees of the other Union Territories and the police.

The Prime Minister said the process of filling the vacant posts of centre and state in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be started soon which will provide employment opportunities to the local youth. He said Center’s public sector units and private sector companies will also be encouraged to provide jobs. He said, in last three decades, around 42000 people have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Prime Minister said the government has tried to bring a new work culture and transparency in the Jammu and Kashmir administration. He said IIT, IIM, AIIMS, all irrigation projects, all power projects and the Anti Corruption Bureau are the results of this effort.

He said, through the new system, the region Jammu and Kashmir will be freed from terrorism and separatism. He said Jammu and Kashmir will be taken to new height of development.