New Delhi, Oct 10: Expressing satisfaction over the conduct of the J&K Assembly elections, former interlocutor and deputy chairman Planning Commission K C Pant today hailed the elections as a victory for Indian democracy and said the most important task before the new government would be restoration of peace and normalcy. "The elections in J&K are certainly a victory for Indian democracy and a fulfillment of the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's promise that the elections would be free and fair," he told reporters here.
Pant said the most important task for the government of the state would be to fully restore peace and normalcy and to step up pace of development and improve the efficiency of the delivery system so that development can be stepped up and opportunity for work can be increased.
Claiming that the elections had brought out the preference of the people for the ballot over the bullet, he said, "those who were claiming to represent public opinion in J&K but decided not to participate in the elections have missed a golden opportunity. I hope they will examine the impact this will have on all objective observers". Bureau Report