Bandh call, threats, stone pelting, excessive security restrictions, inclement weather - yet massive crowds at PM's rally in Srinagar
Cannot remember when I last saw a Prime Minister address such a huge rally in Srinagar.
PM Shri Narendra Modi address rally in Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar: 08.12.2014
| Monday , December 8 , 2014 |
PM to Jammu voters: You can change future with a finger, terrorist can only kill |
Srinagar, India, Dec 8 (Agencies): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took his political campaign to Jammu & Kashmir, promising jobs and water supply to win support in a region where his Bharatiya Janata Party is making an unprecedented bid for power. Ahead of the third phase of the assembly elections now under way in the state, separatists have already stepped up attacks. On Friday, militants killed 11 soldiers and policemen in an attack on an army camp, the worst losses for security forces in six years. Modi told a huge campaign rally in Jammu that strong voter turnout in early poll rounds showed people had rejected the path of violence and wanted development. “The power that you have is greater than those holding the AK-47 (assault rifle),” he said. “He can only kill, while you can change the fortunes of a country with your vote.” Tens of thousands of people applauded Modi as he promised the fruits of development if his party won the mandate to rule the state, weary of years of strife. “People want jobs for the youth, water for the farms, medicines for the elders,” he said. “Even those who have strayed and taken up the gun are feeling burdened by it.” Modi's harder test will be in Srinagar, the state's capital. About 3,000 paramilitary troops and sniffer dogs guarded a cricket stadium where he is due to speak. Militants have in the past tried to stage attacks during visits by Indian leaders. “The security grid is in place,” Lt Gen Subrata Saha, who commands the 15 Corps, told reporters. “It won't be appropriate for me to say anything more than that.” The BJP has long advocated an end to Kashmir's special status under the Indian constitution, but has not raised the issue in the current campaigning. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141208/jsp/frontpage/story_19182562.jsp#.VIWOw9KUeSo |