Udhampur (J&K): Prime Minister Narendra Modi while canvassing in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur to lap up support for Union Minister and BJP candidate Jitendra Singh, said his government will ensure restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, which is going to witness Lok Sabha polls without the fear of terrorism, strikes, stone-pelting and cross-border firing.

At the rally, the PM also spoke about an early election with an assurance that he had given guarantee to the people of the state asserting that they would get freedom from what their generations have been through. The PM said that he was not new to to Udhampur and that he had been frequenting the place for the last several decades.

"I have been visiting the land of Jammu and Kashmir for the last five decades. I remember that during the Ekta Yatra in 1992 you gave me a grand welcome and honour here. You also know that then our mission was to hoist the tricolour at Red Square and the mothers and sisters here had given us a lot of blessings…In 2014, I had come back after visiting Mata Vaishno Devi and on this very ground, I had guaranteed you that I will free you from whatever several generations of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered. Today, with your blessings, Modi has fulfilled that guarantee"

He continued, "After decades, this would be the first election when there will be no bullets or bomb related to terrorism, and no stone pelting. Time is not far when Assembly polls will be held in J&K and statehood will be restored," he asserted.

Speaking about his party's achievements, PM Modi said that he had requested the people to trust him so that he could solve the problems of 60 years. "I had guaranteed respect for the mothers and sisters here. I gave a guarantee that the poor would not have to worry about two meals a day. Today lakhs of families of Jammu and Kashmir have the guarantee of free ration for the next 5 years," he claimed.

Claiming to be farsighted, he asserted that he thinks far ahead. "So what has happened so far is just the trailer. I have to get busy in creating a new and wonderful picture of the new Jammu and Kashmir. The time is not far when Assembly Elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir will get the status of statehood. You will be able to share your dreams with your MLA and your ministers,” he asserted.

Highlighting the problems solved by his government, he said that 'Modi ki guarantee yani guarantee pura hone ki guarantee'. "You remember how the weak governments of Congress kept the Shahpurkandi Dam stalled for decades. The fields of the farmers of Jammu were dry and the villages were in darkness, but our water of Ravi was going to Pakistan. Modi had given a guarantee to the farmers and has fulfilled it also," said the PM.

Attacking the opposition, the PM lashed out at the Congress, the National Conference, the PDP and all other parties and alleged that they want to take Jammu and Kashmir back to those old days. "No one has caused as much damage to Jammu and Kashmir as these family-run parties have done. Here political party means of the family, by the family and for the family," he added.

He challenged the grand old party to bring back Article 370 which was abrogated on December 11, 2023. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India had unanimously upheld the Indian Government's decision to abrogate Article 370. The bench said that article 370 was a 'temporary provision' and the president had the power to revoke it.

“For the sake of power, they had built a wall of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir...Due to your blessings, Modi demolished the wall of Article 370. I have also buried the debris of that wall in the ground. I challenge any political party in India, especially Congress, to announce that they will bring back Article 370. This country won't even look at them," the PM said.

It is to be noted that the PM is scheduled to speak at a public gathering in Barmer, Rajasthan, at 2.15 PM. PM Modi will conduct a road show later in the day from Somnath Square to Gupteshwar Darwaja in Dausa, Rajasthan.