SRINAGAR: Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir reacted to Union minister Amit Shah's remarks on Saturday that the UT's statehood would be restored once the situation gets normal, saying the Centre's statement was self-contradictory and that every stateless day was an affront to federalism.
"After quite literally terrorising people of Jammu and Kashmir into silence to create a false normalcy narrative, GoI's admission that situation still isn't normal is self contradictory. Also proves that silence shouldn't be misconstrued as normalcy," PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote on Twitter.
Reacting to Shah's remarks, Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone asked who will define normalcy.
"Who will define normalcy? And in a federal structure, can we really use normalcy as an excuse to assume power.
Irrespective of the definition of normalcy, possibly coined by the union government, every single stateless day is an affront to federalism and to the people of J&K," Lone said on Twitter.
He said "non-popular" governments mean a "humiliating existence" for the inhabitants of that particular place.
"And to the people of India who are mute bystanders, Inshallah you too will one day taste statelessness and helplessness. We don't wish it for even on our worst enemies (sic)," Lone said.
The People's Conference chairman said the central rule in any place is a "kick in the teeth for federalism".
"And self-styled pat on the back, oh, doing so well, this is all so nauseating," he added.
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami said the people of the Union territory were being denied the right of participation and representation which was one of the fundamental principles of good governance.
"One of the principle fundamentals of good governance is participation and representation, a right which continues to be denied to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Releasing such indexes is intended to help the government in optics-wise," he said.
Tarigami said the "ground reality" of dilapidated roads, erratic power supply, inaccessibility of portable water combined with huge unemployment, social unrest is reflecting the "contrasting picture".
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held after completion of the ongoing delimitation process and statehood will be restored once situation in the union territory becomes normal, Shah said on Saturday.
Virtually releasing India's first "District Good Governance Index", he said Jammu and Kashmir is a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and multipronged efforts are being made for the all round development of the union territory.
The Good Governance Index 2021 has indicated that Jammu and Kashmir has performed strongly in commerce, industry, agriculture and allied sectors in the last three years.
Significant improvements were reported in ease of doing business, tax collection, skill trainings imparted, connectivity to rural habitations, economic empowerment of women, health insurance coverage and housing for all.
These were reflected at the first "District Good Governance Index", virtually released by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday.
The Good Governance Index 2021 has indicated that Jammu and Kashmir registered an increase of 3.7 per cent in good governance indicators over the 2019 to 2021 period, an official statement said.
Strong performances were witnessed in commerce and industry, agriculture and allied sectors, public infrastructure and utilities, judiciary and public safety sectors, it said.
There were improvements in conviction rates, disposal of court cases and proportion of women police personnel while citizen-centric governance sector witnessed a strong performance.
In this backdrop of strong governance performance at the national level, the Jammu and Kashmir administration's initiative of benchmarking governance at district level assumes considerable significance, the statement said.
The district good governance index has helped identify the impact of various governance interventions at the district level and provides a futuristic roadmap for improving district level governance with targeted interventions.
Stakeholders consultations necessitated 10 rounds of meetings at the central government level, including meetings with the chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, district collectors, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, consultations with academia and sector specialists from other states, the statement said.
Some of the key highlights of the results of the index are: In the agriculture and allied sector, universal coverage has been achieved in Kisan Credit Card scheme, Soil Health Card scheme and animal vaccination.
Most districts of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed growth in the production of food grain, horticulture, milk and meat, poultry, and agriculture credit.
The commerce and industry sector has seen improvement in GST registration, MSME units registered online and giving credit to handicrafts and credit for self-employment.
There is a 109 per cent increase in credit to handicrafts in the 2019-2021 period.
In the human resources development sector, the percentage of schools with drinking water, separate toilets and electricity facilities have shown an increase as also the percentage of schools with access to computers and number of children served mid-day meals.
In 10 districts, 100 per cent skill training has been imparted to registered students.
In the public health sector, full immunisation represents a significant success story, percentage of PHC and sub-centres converted to health and wellness centres, proportion of Anganwadis with own buildings have shown improvements.
In the public infrastructure and utilities sector, housing for all scheme indicates more than 50 per cent of sanctioned houses being grounded in 12 districts, Ganderbal and Srinagar achieving 100 per cent access to safe drinking water, 18 districts achieving 100 per cent access to sanitation facilities, improvements in households electrified and construction of all-weather roads.
In the social welfare and development sector, 80 per cent Aadhar seeding of ration cards represents a major milestone.
In the financial inclusion sector, financial inclusion under the Jan Dhan Yojana has achieved universal coverage, financial support under self-employment schemes has also registered double digit growth.
Shah on Saturday said Rs 50,000 crore investments will come to Jammu and Kashmir in the next few years and agreements have already been signed for Rs 12,000 crore.
Virtually launching the District Good Governance Index (DGGI) in Jammu Kashmir, he said all investments together will generate employment opportunities for five lakh youths.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the best industrial policy ever for Jammu and Kashmir, under which investments of about Rs 50,000 crore is going to come in Jammu and Kashmir and that will provide employment to five lakh youths," he said.
The home minister said on one hand, investments during last 70 years was Rs 12,000 crore.
However, he said, in a single year, MoUs for investments worth Rs 12,000 crore have been signed and ground breaking ceremonies worth Rs 2,000 crore have also taken place.
"Today, I once again want to tell my young friends, especially the young friends of the valley that you should walk on the path of development laid by Modi. No one can stop Jammu and Kashmir from becoming the most developed region of the country," he said.
The home minister urged youths of the valley to focus on the development initiatives undertaken in the Union Territory and said they should participate in the development process, the political process and in the democratic process and make their future bright.
Referring to the outcomes of the DGGI, Shah said the achievements of Jammu and Kashmir will reach every state and this will lead to healthy competition of good governance in every district of the country.
"The district is an important unit if good governance is to be taken to the grassroots level in true sense and unless there is good governance at the district level, then it has no meaning," he said.
He said the competition between districts through the Good Governance Index will be of great benefit to the general public of Jammu and Kashmir.
The District Good Governance Index of Jammu and Kashmir covers 10 sectors of governance and 58 indices with 116 data items, which include, agriculture, services, commerce and industry, human resources, environment, justice and public safety, social welfare and development.
"In every sector, Jammu and Kashmir has attempted to provide direct benefits to beneficiaries in two years and it is natural that middlemen will be angry, but we are not afraid of their displeasure," he said.