In an exclusive interview to Zee News, the BJP president talked about a wide range of issues including upcoming assembly elections, NRC and Article 370.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the situation in Kashmir is 100% normal as there is no curfew, phone lines are open and tourists are allowed to visit.
His statement comes a day after the government allowed postpaid mobile connections to function in the Valley, 72 days after restrictions were imposed following the government's decision to abrogate Article 370.
In an exclusive interview to Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary, where the BJP president talked about a wide range of issues including upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, NRC and action against opposition leaders over corruption, Shah said he was fortunate to have got the chance to abrogate Article 370.
"We have grown up raising slogans like 'ek desh mein do vidhan nahi chalenge' and 'jahan hue balidan Mukherjee wo Kashmir hamara hai'. I find myself fortunate that I got the chance to abrogate Article 370," Shah said.
On the question when he expects normalcy to return to Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Minister said there is 100% normalcy.
"All landlines in Jammu and Kashmir are working, almost all mobile phones are working, tourists are now allowed to go, there is traffic on roads and markets are also reopening. I think the situation in the Valley is already normal," he said.
He, however, said that security forces and the government will have to remain on alert because Pakistan is desperate to create trouble.
Asked about when former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti would be released from detention, Shah said security agencies will take a call on releasing them after reviewing the situation as they are detained to maintain law and order in the Valley.
On the comparison with India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Shah said that not only him but even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and millions of people in India are inspired by the "Iron Man."
Underlining that people draw these comparisons because Sardar Patel was country's first Home Minister and he is holding the same office now, Shah stressed that no one should make that comparison as Sardar had achieved great things for India.
When asked about the economic slowdown, Shah said that the whole world is facing the trouble of economic slowdown. He added that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is working hard and the Centre has already announced five packages in the last few weeks to boost the economy. It is expected that the economy will get on track in the next two-three months, he said.
He also assured the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank customers that their money was safe and they would get it soon.
Reacting to the Congress' allegation of vendetta politics for action against opposition leaders, Shah said he did not send former Finance Minister P Chidambaram to jail to settle political scores.
Shah stressed that the CBI or the ED do not work under the Home Ministry and these agencies are free to take action without any intervention from his ministry. These leaders are also free to take legal recourse from any court in the country, Shah said.
"When P Chidambaram was the Home Minister, the CBI was not under him. Now that I am the Home Minister, still the CBI is not under me. The agencies are not run by the home ministry. The two are not connected," he said.
He also stressed on the BJP's commitment to implement National Register for Citizens (NRC) across India. He said the government is studying the loopholes in the NRC in Assam and will address those issues before implementing it across the country.
The BJP chief added that Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will also be passed soon.
Talking about the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, Shah expressed confidence that the BJP will return to power in both the states with two-third majority. Shah said that chief ministers of the two BJP-ruled states - Devendra Fadnavis and Manohar Lal Khattar - have done good work and people will vote in their favour.
The BJP chief noted that Maharashtra has regained its lost glory under Fadnavis' leadership.
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 "Home Minister Amit Shah on Zee News")
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