Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that while two of the refugees from West Pakistan namely Dr. Manmohan Singh and Inder Kumar Gujral, became the Prime Ministers of India, the contrast is that those of the same category of refugees who chose to settle in Jammu and Kashmir were not even given the right to vote in the State Assembly elections or to contest the elections to the state legislature. But he said that after Prime Minister Modi on August 5, 2019 rectified this anomaly by abrogating Article 370, now even a refugee from Pakistan settled in Jammu and Kashmir can contest elections and also aspire to become an MLA or a minister or even a chief minister by the Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr. Jitendra Singh was addressing a rally of refugees from West Pakistan held near the International Border (IB) near Jammu. He had earlier gone to Bagona, the native village of Brig. Rajinder Singh who achieved martyrdom during the attack in Pakistan in 1947. Dr Jitendra Singh said that the refugees who were uprooted from Pakistan and had to leave their homes and hearths at short notice to take shelter on the Indian side after partition have an exemplary history of struggle and recovery after going through the trauma of partition and also losing . many of their near and dear ones in the riots that followed.
After independence, he said, they contributed in all spheres of life and brought pride to the nation. Not only this, two Indian Prime Ministers namely Dr Manmohan Singh and Inder Kumar Gujral are former residents of West Pakistan while former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani hailed from Karachi, he added. However, Dr Jitendra Singh lamented that due to political interests of certain narrow-minded elements and machinations in the name of Article 370, refugees from Pakistan who chose to settle in Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of their fundamental rights. citizenship as well as other opportunities available to their counterparts who chose to settle in other parts of India after independence in 1947.
Dr. Paying full tribute to the courage, conviction and determination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jitendra Singh said Dr. Jitendra Singh that refugees from West Pakistan settled in and around Jammu had to wait 72 years before Modi took over as Prime Minister and corrected this anomaly. In the last three years, this section of the population has not only acquired all the constitutional rights available to all other Indians, but has also achieved a sense of self-respect and belonging as citizens of India.
Referring to the completion of 75 years of India’s independence, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India has demonstrated to the rest of the world its ability and inherent strength to prosper as a democratic independent nation and now enters the most critical phase of 25 years. which Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as “Amrit Mahakaal”. Dr Jitendra Singh expressed hope that the next quarter century would mark a golden chapter in India’s growth story and Jammu and Kashmir would play a major role. According to him, under Prime Minister Modi, the unexplored potential of peripheral areas like Jammu and Kashmir is now being exploited and several new Start-Up initiatives are being launched from Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the agriculture sector.
Expressing his wishes on the eve of Independence Day, Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the efforts of veteran activist Labha Ram Gandhi in organizing this Independence Day event and expressed the belief that like other Indians, the refugees from West Pakistan settled in Jammu and Kashmir should also feel energized to contribute towards manufacturing Modi’s India of 2047. Speaking on behalf of his community, Labha Ram Gandhi expressed full solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and said that it was only because of Modi and the BJP government that justice was done to the refugees from West Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen (Retd) RK Sharma reiterated the patriotic and nationalistic support of the Indian Forces and ex-servicemen to the Modi government on the eve of India’s independence.
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