Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the restrictions imposed in Kashmir Valley has now been eased and reasserted that the entire world has supported New Delhi's move to abrogate the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
Shah also added that Jammu and Kashmir now have the potential to be the most developed region in the country in the next ten years, thanks in part to this bold step taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Home Minister faulted the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for approaching the United Nations in 1948 on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
"In 1948, India went to the United Nations. That was a Himalayan blunder. It is more than a Himalayan blunder," he said at event organised by Sankalp Former Civil Servants Forum at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) here.
The minister accused the opposition of spreading "misinformation" about restrictions in the Valley. "Where are the restrictions? It is only in your mind. There are no restrictions. Only misinformation about restrictions is being spread," he said addressing a seminar on national security.
Shah said curfew has been lifted in all 196 police stations in Kashmir, and only in eight police stations areas CrPC 144 was imposed where five or more persons cannot gather.
"People are free to move around anywhere in Kashmir. Many journalists from the rest of India are also visiting Kashmir regularly," he said
The home minister said 41,800 people have lost their lives in the decades-old militancy in Jammu and Kashmir but no one raised the issue of human rights violation of jawans, their widows or the children who were orphaned.
"But people are trying to create hue and cry over lack of mobile connections for a few days. Lack of phone connection is not a human rights violation," he said.
"The decision on Article 370 will strengthen the unity and integrity of India," he said, adding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be completely normal soon.
Shah said there were 631 princely states when India attained independence in 1947 and 630 of them were handled by the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and one by Nehru.
"The 630 princely states were merged with the Union of India completely but Jammu and Kashmir remained an issue since 1947," he said.
Shah, however, praised former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for signing the 'Simla Accord' saying she ensured that Jammu and Kashmir remains a bilateral issue.
The home minister rejected the argument that scrapping Article 370 will "endanger" Kashmiri culture, noting that regional languages and traditions were flourishing in other states.
"I want to ask those people, is there any threat to Gujarat or its 'Garba' because it does not have Article 370. Is West Bengal or its 'Durga Puja'facing any threat as there is no Article 370 there. Are Karnataka or the Kannada language and Maharashtra or Marathi culture facing threat because there is no Article 370 there," he asked.
Shah said some people have prevented the culture of Jammu and Kashmir from spread to other parts of the country, whose strength is unity and diversity.
The home minister said as many as 106 laws, including the right to education, human rights and the ban on child marriage were not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir because of Article 370.
"Tell me one benefit which was available due to Article 370. Because of Article 370, corruption has flourished," he said.
He said Jammu and Kashmir had no Anti-Corruption Bureau. "Those who looted Kashmir did not want Anti Corruption Bureau as they did not want any corrupt to be caught. They used Article 370 as a shield to loot people," he said.
"The Prime Minister has finally rooted out the cankering wound ('nasur'). He deserves to be complimented," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
