Prime Minister Narendra Modi is greeted by the locals on his arrival in Leh region of Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday kick-started the BJP’s election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir with a big push for “vikas” by inaugurating development projects in all three regions of the state during a whirlwind day-long tour. Addressing public meetings in the three regions, Mr Modi also pitched the 2016 surgical strikes against terrorist launching pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as the new policy of his government to tackle the menace head-on.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state are likely to be held simultaneously in April-May. The BJP withdrew support to the Mehbooba Mufti-led state government in June 2018 and it was placed under President’s rule in December 2018.

In Srinagar, the Prime Minister vowed to restore peace while reaching out to families of Kashmiri Armymen killed by terrorists and displaced Kashmiri Pandits. In Jammu and Leh he targeted the Opposition, including the Congress, for criticising his government’s farmers’ income plan, opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and using farm loan waivers as a an election gimmick.

“I want to assure the people of entire country that we will fight terrorists with full might. Every terrorist will be given a jaw breaking reply. By carrying out surgical strikes we have already told the entire world what India’s strategy would be like. We will break the back of terrorism,” Mr Modi said in Srinagar after inaugurating and laying foundation of multiple projects.

Paying homage to those killed while fighting terrorists, Mr Modi said heroes are those who live to fulfil dreams and the biggest cowards are the ones who kill others’ dreams.

Hailing Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, a soldier in the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment who posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra recently, and Aurangzeb, a rifleman and another security personnel killed by militants, the Prime Minister said that the entire country is feeling sad that those very Kashmiri youth who want peace in the state are being killed and made victim of terrorism.

“This is the reality of terrorism here,” he said, adding that the government will leave no stone unturned towards realising the dreams of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by once again making Jammu and Kashmir a place of peace and serenity. “The dreams of Atalji will be translated into reality. After taking each and every citizen along, we will make Kashmir the same flourishing, peaceful and beautiful place as it used to be, a place that would invite people from all across the country. Whatever is needed to realise this dream will be done,” he said.

He said the government is committed to facilitate the return of Kashmiri Pandits to their homes in the Valley with full honour.

Terming it as a very important issue, the Prime Minister said, “I’m personally in pain for them. That pain is in me, always.”

“Kashmiriyat demands that those Kashmiri Pandits who had to flee due to the violence here, leaving behind their houses, land and memories of their ancestors,  should be settled here with full honour,” Mr Modi said, while laying the foundation stone for transit accommodation for Kashmiri Pandit migrants at Ganderbal and Bandipora.

Earlier while addressing a public rally at Vijaypur in the Samba district of Jammu, the Prime Minister made a strong pitch for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and said that his government would stand with the children of “Mother India” who have faced persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

“We will stand with those who were part of India at one time, but got separated from us due to the circumstances of the Partition in 1947,” he said.

He criticised the Congress over its opposition to the legislation and said that the Opposition party, when it was in power, did not pay “attention to the pain of our brothers and sisters”.

Mr Modi also hit out at the Congress by terming its promises of loan waiver an election gimmick. The Congress had promised to waive farmers’ loans worth `6 lakh crore in 2008-09, but it gave a loan relief of Rs 52,000 crore only after coming to power, he claimed.

“The CAG report found that about 25-30 lakh people who got loan waiver were not even eligible for it,” Mr Modi said.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition for criticising his government’s farmers’ income plan, he said people sitting in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi do not know the importance of Rs 6,000 for a poor farmer living in distant and difficult areas. He was referring to his government’s announcement in the interim Budget on direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to those holding cultivable land up to two hectare.

The Prime Minister also referred to the Kartarpur corridor issue to target the Congress and said, “The previous governments had the tendency to ignore the sentiments of the country. You’re well aware of that. Take Kartarpur corridor for instance. Had they paid attention then, the land of Guru Nanak Dev would have been a part of India.”

Given the fact that a large number of people from the Jammu region serve in defence services, the Prime Minister in his speech invoked issues related to the Army and other security agencies. He said the Congress government had set aside Rs 500 crore for the one rank-one promotion. “But that was misleading,” he said, adding, “Our government has spent Rs 35,000 crore on that. Out of these, Rs 11,000 crore were arrears and have been credited to the families of the servicemen.”

He said the defence budget has reached 300,000 crore rupees and that will benefit the families whose members are serving in the defence forces.

During the day, Mr Modi laid foundation stones of various development work in Srinagar region worth Rs 7,000 crore. He inaugurated a rural Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in Bandipore and a multipurpose indoor sports facility at Sephora, Ganderbal, among other projects.

In Jammu, Mr Modi laid foundation stones for several development projects, including an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and an Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).

He also launched University of Ladakh, the first-ever varsity in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The PM also laid the foundation of new domestic terminal building and associated works at Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport in Leh.