Will move forward in J&K by embracing all, not by ‘goli and gaali’: Modi

17/08/2018

NEW DELHI, Aug 16: The government will move forward in Jammu and Kashmir by adopting an approach of embracing all and not by 'goli and gaali' (bullet and abuse), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he announced that elections to village panchayats and local bodies in the state would be held in coming months.
Speaking from the ramparts of Red Fort on the 72nd Independence Day, Modi said his government will move ahead in the state by following the path of 'Insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhuriyat' as shown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He said his government wants to ensure balanced development of the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir - Ladakh, Jammu and the Kashmir Valley - and the communities living there.
The prime minister said the central government is now directly sending funds to villages to ensure speedy development. Through this, he added, elected village heads will get more power to take their areas forward.
"In Jammu and Kashmir, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji had shown us the path - and that path is right. We want to move forward on that path. Vajpayee ji had said we have to move forward to ensure Kashmir's development on 'Insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhuriyat'.
"Be it Ladakh, Jammu or Kashmir Valley, there should be balanced development in the state and hopes and aspirations of common people there should be fulfilled. Infrastructure should be improved and we should move forward with the sentiment of embracing all.
"We want to move forward by embracing the people of Kashmir, who live with great patriotic feelings, and not on the path of 'goli and gaali' (bullet and abuse)," he said.
Modi said irrigation schemes were moving forward in the state and work to set up an IIT, an IIM and an AIIMS and the reconstruction of the famous Dal Lake is also being undertaken.
"In very near future, we are moving forward towards holding panchayat and local body elections," he said, noting that efforts are being made to strengthen democratic institutions in the state.
Modi said people living in villages of Jammu and Kashmir and village heads were meeting him in large numbers, demanding early elections to panchayats and local bodies.
The elections have remained stalled for some reason or the other. The last panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir were held in 2011 and the urban local body elections have not been held for nearly eight years.
"I am happy to say that in coming months, people of Jammu and Kashmir will get an opportunity to exercise their right and set up their own system," the prime minister said.
In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra said the urban local body and panchayat polls will be held from September. He said elections to urban local bodies will take place in September-October while the phased panchayat polls will be held in October-December.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced an ambitious mission of sending an Indian astronaut to space by 2022 on board 'Gaganyaan'.
The mission, he said in his Independence Day address, would be launched using the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) own capabilities, and on successful completion, make India the fourth nation in the world to do so.
"We have resolved that by 2022, when India celebrates 75 years of Independence or maybe even before that, certainly some of our young boys and girls will unfurl the Tricolour in space.
"I feel proud to announce that very soon as part of our 'Manned Space' mission, we shall be sending an Indian into space. This will be done through the pursuit of our scientists, and we will proudly find ourselves as the fourth such nation to have launched a successful Manned Space Mission," Modi said from the Red Fort.
The prime minister said with the launch of Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission), space scientists displayed the country's capabilities in the field.
"In days to come, thanks to the futuristic vision and creativity of our scientists, we are confident of launching NavIC, the first indigenous Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)," he said.
The navigation system, he said, will guide fishermen and others through satellite signals.
Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by ISRO in October 2008 and operated till August 2009, while the Mangalyaan is a space probe orbiting Mars since September 24, 2014.
Reacting to the prime minister's call, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said technologies that would help in sending an Indian astronaut to space - like the human crew module and the environment control and life support system - have already been developed.
Prior to the actual launch by 2022, the ISRO will have two unmanned missions, and the spacecraft will be fired using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)Mark-III, he said.
"We have already developed the technology like human crew module and environment control and life support system. Before undertaking the launch, we will have two unmanned missions. We will use GLSV Mark-III for this project," Sivan told PTI.
If successful, India would be the fourth nation to achieve the feat after the US, Russia and China.
Rakesh Sharma, a former IAF pilot, was the first Indian to travel to space. Sharma was a part of the Soviet Union's Soyuz T-11 expedition, launched on April 2, 1984, as part of the Intercosmos programme.
India-born Kalpana Chawla and Indian-origin Sunita Williams are among the known names to have gone to space.
Chawla was one of the seven crew members who perished in the space shuttle Columbia disaster during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere in 2003.
K Radhakrishnan, former ISRO chairman under whose leadership the Mangalyaan mission was launched in 2013, termed the announcement of Gaganyaan mission a "turning point" for the ISRO.
ISRO is known for its space programme that focuses on projects which matter to the day-to-day lives of people.
However, of late, it has launched missions like Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) that has aroused tremendous interest among people.
The space body will launch Chandrayaan-2, which will land a rover on the moon, next year.

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