President Kovind omits word ‘statehood’, terms DDC elections beginning of a new democratic future in JK

Srinagar/Jan,29 : President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said that recent elections to district development council (DDCs) mark the beginning of a new democratic future in Jammu & Kashmir but he did not drop even a single hint about the restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir as demanded by regional parties including J&K Apni Party, Peoples Alliance For Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) and several other parties.
Addressing the joint session of parliament marking the commencement of the budget session President Kovind said “after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been empowered with new entitlements. The development-oriented policy of the Central Government has also received wholehearted support from the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Only a few weeks ago, the elections to district councils in Jammu and Kashmir were held successfully for the first time after independence”. The President said the large-scale participation of voters in the District Development Council (DDC) polls had shown that Jammu and Kashmir was forging ahead towards a new democratic future at a rapid pace and the grant of new entitlements had empowered the people of the region.He however did not uttered even a single word about the restoration of statehood as demanded by J&K Apni Party, Peoples’ Alliance For Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) and several other regional parties
“After the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme, every family of Jammu and Kashmir is assured of free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh. A bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal has also been established in Jammu,” he said.Kovind said after becoming a Union Territory, elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council were held successfully a few months ago, and now, people of Ladakh were taking decisions related to the development of their region expeditiously.