Jammu And Kashmir Polls: As the second phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections inches closer, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stepped up its poll campaign in a bid to form government in the Union Territory following the elections, which are being held after a decade. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who reached Jammu on a three-day election campaign on Friday evening, is scheduled to address several election rallies.


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On Saturday, the senior BJP leader said that there is peace along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan fears Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would not dare to open fire, knowing fully that India’s response will be befitting to silence its guns.


While addressing an election rally in the Mendhar border area in the UT's Poonch district in support of saffron party candidate Murtaza Khan, Shah said the Centre wiped out terrorism by replacing guns and stones in the hands of youngsters with laptops and added the government would not allow guns to resonate in the hills of the Jammu region.


"We will construct more bunkers along the borders for the safety of people. I want to remind you of cross-border firings in the 1990s. Is cross-border firing happening today?" he asked. "It is because the earlier rulers here were frightened of Pakistan, but now Pakistan fears Modi. They would not dare to fire, but if they did, they would be given a befitting reply," the senior BJP leader further stated.


During his election campaigning speech, Shah said that “terrorism erupted in 1990 and continued till 2014, claiming the lives of 40,000 people." "These three families failed to stop terrorism and instead encouraged it. The BJP and Modi put an end to terrorism and replaced the guns and stones in the hands of the youth with laptops,” he further stated.


Shah launched a sharp attack at the National Conference and claimed that NC vice president Omar Abdullah is frightening people about the revival of terrorism. “I want to tell from here that despite your tutelage, Modi and Shah will not allow them to resonate in these beautiful hills again,” Shah said.


“Terrorism is of no benefit to anyone. Guns were handed over to our children, and we too will be providing guns to Pahari youth by recruiting them in the police and army. For that, we will hold a special recruitment drive on the borders,” he further stated.


The Union Minister came down heavily on the National Conference, Congress, and PDP and accused them of encouraging terrorism. He said that this election will ensure an end to the three families rule in the Union Territory.


“It is necessary because these families never allowed the democracy to grow in J&K,” Shah said. He further stated that had the BJP government not formed in 2014 and elections to different panchayat Raj Institutions held, the 30,000 elected panchayat members would have never gotten an opportunity but instead would have worked to further strengthen their ‘kingdom’.


Referring to the National Conference (NC) manifesto that they will review the reservation given to different communities, Shah said, “I want to assure you that we will allow them to touch the reservation under the scheduled tribe status to you. We will extend the reservation to promotion (avenues of the government employees).”


The assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are taking place for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh—in August 2019.


The first phase of polling was held on September 18. The second phase will be held on September 25, followed by the third and final phase on October 1. The election results will be declared on October 8.


(With PTI Inputs)