New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that those trying to spread hate and obstruct development works in Kashmir will never succeed as he cited a recent government exercise to assert that power of development is stronger than the might of bullets and bombs.
In his monthly ‘Mann ki baat’ broadcast, he said the ‘Back to village’ programme held in June in Jammu and Kashmir saw enthusiastic participation of villagers everywhere, including in very sensitive and remote villages, as government officials reached there to discuss development schemes with locals.
“It shows how keen people of Kashmir are to join mainstream of development… Such programmes and people’s participation in them show that people of Kashmir want good governance. This also proves the dictum that the power of development is stronger than the might of bullets and bombs,” he said.
“It is clear that those who wish to spread hatred en route to development, pose hurdles will never succeed in their sinister plans,” he added.
For the first time, the Prime Minister said, senior officials reached the doorsteps of villagers across 4,500 panchayats. These officials also reached villages on border which live under the shadow of cross-border firing, he said, adding that they also visited sensitive villages in the districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag- districts which have seen heightened militant activity of late, without any fear.
Modi also noted that over 3 lakh pilgrims completed the Amarnath yatra since 1 July and said it has already outnumbered the number of devotees during 60 days in 2015. Hailing the hospitality of the people of the state, he said it will boost tourism.
Modi congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation for the launch of Chandrayaan-2. “Every Indian is proud of Chandrayaan-2. The year 2019 has been a good one for Indian space and science,” he said.
“My dear countrymen, I am sure that you would have felt immensely proud of India’s achievement beyond the skies in outer space. The successful launch by our scientists despite the early setback is unprecedented. Chandrayaan 2 is Indian to the core. It is purely Indian in heart and spirit. It is a totally a swadeshi and homegrown mission. We are now eagerly waiting for September when Lander Vikram and Rover Pragyan will land on the lunar surface,” he said.