Amit Shah, today replied to a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Rajya Sabha. While replying to the discussion that lasted for two days, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in the last 10 years, the Ministry of Home Affairs has worked to strengthen the morale of our security personnel by establishing strong political will and a robust legislative framework.
The Home Minister stated that the security, development, and sovereignty of this country have always been challenged by three major problems – terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, left-wing extremism, and insurgency in the Northeast. He mentioned that these three deep-rooted issues have disrupted the peace of the country for almost four decades, raised questions on the country's security, and hindered the pace of national development. Shri Shah added that due to these three problems, nearly 92,000 citizens of the country had lost their lives over the span of four decades. He further stated that before Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, no coordinated efforts had been made for the complete eradication of these deep-rooted issues. He said, Terrorism, Naxalism and extremism are on the verge of ending under Modi government.
Union Home Minister stated that earlier, in Kashmir, terrorists would frequently infiltrate from a neighboring country, carry out bomb blasts and murders, and the attitude of the then central governments towards these incidents was lenient. They would remain silent, afraid to speak out, and were also fearful of losing their vote bank. He mentioned that after Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism was adopted. He said, under the Modi government, no one has the courage to carry out bomb blasts in the country. After our government came to power, attacks occurred in Uri and Pulwama, but within just 10 days, we responded by entering Pakistan's territory and carrying out surgical strikes. He further stated that, in the past, only Israel and the United States were the two countries that were always ready to protect their borders and military forces, and it was Prime Minister Modi who added the name of our great India to that list. It was from there that the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism was initiated.
Shri Amit Shah stated that the root cause of separatism in Kashmir was Article 370. He mentioned that due to political compulsion and vote bank politics, Article 370 continued for many years. The Home Minister said that on 5th August, 2019, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi abolished Article 370 in this very Parliament. He added that the framers of our Constitution had a vision that there should be one country, one symbol, and one constitution, and PM Modi fulfilled this dream. Shri Shah further stated that on 5th-6th August, 2019, a new era of one law, one symbol, and one leader began, and from that moment, the process of permanently integrating Kashmir with India began.