New Delhi, Jan 31:
President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve commendation as both assembly and Lok Sabha elections were held peacefully in the union territory after a conducive environment was created following the abrogation of Article 370.
Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning of the Budget session, Murmu also said that the final phase of eliminating Left-wing Extremism has begun and due to the government’s efforts, the number of districts affected by the menace has reduced from 126 to 38 today.
“After the abrogation of Article 370, there is a conducive environment for the development in Jammu and Kashmir. Both the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections were conducted in a peaceful manner in Jammu and Kashmir. The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve commendation for this achievement,” she said.
Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was divided into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The President also referred to the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), which has been launched in the country’s first villages located along the border.
The central government approved the VVP as a centrally sponsored scheme on February 15, 2023, with a financial outlay of Rs 4,800 crore from 2022-23 to 2025-26 for comprehensive development of the select villages in 46 blocks in 19 districts abutting the northern border.–(PTI)