Addressing a gathering at Srinagar's Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on Monday, 25 October, Union Home Minister Amit Shah removed his bulletproof glass shield, saying that he wanted to speak to the people of Jammu and Kashmir 'frankly'.
Shah, on his final day of his three-day visit to J&K, stated,
"I was taunted, condemned... Today I want to speak to you frankly, which is why there is no bulletproof shield or security here. Farooq sahab has suggested me to speak with Pakistan but I will speak to the youth and people of the Valley."Amit Shah
The BJP leader is on his inaugural visit to the region since the abrogation of Article 370 – which scrapped the special status of the erstwhile J&K state, splitting Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh into Union Territories – in August 2019.
He added, "The repealing of Article 370 had only one intention — to put Kashmir, Jammu, and newly-created Ladakh (Union Territory) on the path of development. You will see the fruits of our efforts by 2024," PTI reported.
Earlier in the day, clad in traditional Kashmiri pheran, Shah offered prayers at the Kheer Bhawani temple in J&K's Ganderbal district and also went on to pray at the temple of Mata Ragnya Devi.
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