A day after Rahul Gandhi expressed concerned over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir over the scrapping of Article 370, Union Minister Jitendra Singh hit back saying that while the people of the union territory are rejoicing, the Congress leader was unhappy. Speaking to ANI, he said, “It wasn’t the decision which would have pleased or music to the ears of Rahul Gandhi and allies, as they are the ones actually who have flourished & thrived in an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear-mongering.”
The MP from Udhampur further said that Section 144 was being relaxed in most areas ahead of Eid. He further claimed that compared to the past, there is “much more atmosphere of peace this time”. “Common man in Kashmir is rejoicing abrogation of Article 370. Wherever Section 144 was imposed, it is being taken off. On the eve of Eid, there is much more atmosphere of peace this time compared to several other occasions of Eid in the years gone by,” he told the agency further.
In the meantime, restrictions have been eased on civilian movement in the valley. However, shops remained shut and the buzz was missing in markets a day before Eid celebrations. While the CWC meeting was on, Rahul Gandhi had urged PM Narendra Modi assuage the concerns that have been raised in a transparent manner. “I was called by the Working Committee as because between the work they were doing to choose the next Congress president, there were some reports that things in Jammu and Kashmir are going very wrong. There are reports of violence, of people dying in Jammu and Kashmir. Therefore we stopped our discussion on the Congress president issue and we had a presentation on what was going there,” he told reporters.
“It is very very important that the government and the Prime Minister make it very clear and transparent on what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. We are very concerned about reports that are coming in and the Centre needs to assuage the country and tell the country exactly what is happening and be transparent,” he further said.