Emotional blackmailing, looting a habit of Kashmir's politicians: PM Modi

Udhampur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the development of Jammu and Kashmir has been stagnant since the last 30 years and leaders here “indulge in corruption and emotional blackmail”. [caption id=“attachment_1826369” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PM Narendra Modi criticised the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir during his poll campaigning. PTI[/caption] Addressing a rally for the BJP in Udhampur ahead of the second phase of polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said there have been a dozen prime ministers in India but none has had the opportunity to visit Jammu and Kashmir as much as he has had. “This country must have rarely seen any other PM who has come to Kashmir every month,” said Modi, adding that he will come to Kashmir in December too. “I decided to spend Diwali with the flood-affected people here. My decision was not for politics, nor was it for gathering votes…,” he said, adding that he had always come to Jammu and Kashmir for development and will continue to do so. The Prime Minister then went on to criticise the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly looting the state, in a speech similar to the one he had delivered earlier on 22 November. “Corruption, looting and emotional blackmailing has become a habit of politicians in Kashmir,” said Modi. “Development has been stalled in Jammu and Kashmir for the last 30 years,” he added. “Both the government and opposition in Kashmir don’t like me because I have disrupted their plan for corruption,” said Modi. “All the money sent to Jammu and Kashmir for its people was collected by two families here,” he added. Modi also promised to bring those ‘stolen’ public funds back to the people of Jammu and Kashmir if the BJP came to power. Modi also said, “What has not happened in 30 years, if I do not do it in five years, then you can hold me accountable for it and even question me.” “We have to work towards the valley’s development.. and I need your help in doing it,” he said. “We have decided that no time will be wasted in sending whatever that the state needs. But I will also make sure that we know where every rupee sent from Delhi is spent,” he said. Modi also thanked the people in the state for voting in large numbers saying that the militants have been astounded by their efforts. “I thank the people of Jammu and Kashmir for coming out and voting in such large numbers. The militants are astounded. Those who wanted to use bullet to overpower the strength of ballot have failed. People have shown that the strength of ballot has overpowered the bullet,” he said. Promising development, Modi assured that he working on providing job opportunities for the youth in the state. The Prime Minister also talked about the difficulties faced by security forces in Kashmir. “The kind of tension which security forces face in Jammu and Kashmir is not faced by anyone else.” (With inputs from PTI and IANS)