No stone pelting in J&K post-Art 370 abrogation: Nadda

New Delhi, Jul 30: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President J P Nadda said stone pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir have reduced to zero since the abrogation of Article 370. He said that while more than 2,000 such incidents occurred between 2010 and 2014, not a single case had been reported in the last three years.
Nadda said that Kashmir Valley had not been shut down for even a day in recent years.
According to him, terrorism in the region had been limited to foreign elements, and the average life span of a terrorist in the valley had come down to seven days. This, he said, was the outcome of a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism.
Nadda said the current security situation was the result of strong political decisions. “The same police and army operated earlier as well, but there was a lack of political will in the past to act against Pakistan,” he said.
The BJP leader said that after the Uri terror attack, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes within three days. According to him, this was the first time since 1947 that an Indian Prime Minister had publicly declared that those behind the attack would not be spared.
He said that during the UPA government, no such action was taken despite repeated terror attacks. Referring to incidents such as the 2005 Delhi blasts, the 2006 Varanasi attack, and the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, Nadda said there was no pressure put on Pakistan at the time.
“Even after the 2008 Jaipur bomb blasts by Indian Mujahideen, the Indian and Pakistani governments agreed on confidence-building measures. They kept firing bullets at us, and we kept offering them biryani,” he said.
Responding to criticism from the Opposition over the Pahalgam incident, Nadda said those raising questions should look at their own record. “During their tenure, multiple blasts took place across the country, and many people were killed, but no concrete action was taken. Trade and terror continued side by side during those years,” he said.
The BJP National President said that at the 2009 SCO Summit, the UPA government did not even mention the 2008 Mumbai attacks. (KNO)