Chandigarh: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar here Wednesday said he does not foresee any war between India and Pakistan, amid heightened tensions between the two nations after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We do not foresee any war (with Pakistan),” Javadekar said when asked that a Pakistan minister has expressed apprehensions about it.
“The issue is that Pakistan is nervous. There is no need to react to what Pakistan people say. In the whole world, they are being ridiculed,” said Javadekar.
Commenting on the revocation of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, Javadekar said there had been no untoward incident in the Valley since last month.
“This is the proof that people have welcomed the decision,” said the minister, who met legendary athlete Milkha Singh, former Army chief VP Malik and industrialist RK Sabu as part of the BJP’s ‘Mahasampark Abhiyan’ in the city Wednesday.
The union minister, who was accompanied by Chandigarh BJP chief Sanjay Tandon, asserted that because of the special status, J-K was deprived of development for over 70 years.
“People of Jammu and Kashmir were deprived of development and progress that has been taking place in the rest of the country for over 70 years,” he said, adding that Article 370 kept them away from taking the advantage of several development schemes started by the Union government.
He said the decision would now bring them to the “mainstream” and “open” avenues for progress.
He said earlier people were deprived of schemes being run for the protection of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and women.
“Now, they will get the benefit of the schemes on a par with other citizens of the country,” the minister added.
Reiterating that Kashmir was an integral part of India, the minister said now all laws would be implemented there.