NEW DELHI: Affirming that the Results of the DDC survey in Jammu and Kashmir are a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “broader narrative” for the union territory, the BJP claimed on Wednesday that the verdict is a “resounding slap” from the people in the face of extremists, separatists , terrorists and their sponsors.
Minister of Justice and party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad He also rejected the claim that the District Development Council survey results are a victory for the Popular Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), noting that the BJP has become the largest party and has the most votes than the total votes of the National Conference, PDP, and Congress together.
The PAGD is a merger of parties, including the NC and the PDP, that have fiercely opposed the Modi government’s measures such as repeal of Article 370 and removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
At a press conference, Prasad noted that the BJP has won 74 seats to NC’s 67, PDP’s 27, and Congress’s 26, and claimed that many of the 39 independent winners had the support of his party.
The PAGD won a total of 110 seats.
While the BJP put on a strong show in the Jammu region, Prasad noted that the lotus, a reference to his party’s poll symbol, had also flourished in the Valley.
The Gupkar alliance was formed because its constituents knew they could not fight the BJP on their own, he said.
“This is a victory for India, democracy, hope, development and the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This is a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader narrative on Jammu and Kashmir,” Prasad told reporters .
Development work was introduced under the central rule in the region, and people in Kashmir have now distinguished between those who rule and those who serve, he said.
“People have seen how democracy can bring them development. Their faith in democracy has been strengthened,” said the trade union minister, noting that many pockets of militancy like Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Sopore in Kashmir saw many more polls in the DDC surveys that Lok Sabha elections.
He said that the PAGD also lost in the Burhan Wani area, a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist whose posts on social media and the subsequent assassination at an encounter in 2016 had garnered much publicity.
This is important as Wani’s assassination was “made an international campaign issue by these elements” and Pakistan also raised the issue, he said.
Noting that the BJP has won a series of polls across the country in recent months, Prasad said regular critics of the prime minister should take note of people’s faith in him.
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