People of J-K are no more victims of dual citizenship, says Ram Madhav

The people of Jammu and Kashmir are no longer victims of dual citizenship as it has been completely integrated with India, said BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav here on Saturday.

"This Diwali is special for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the first Diwali after complete integration of the state with India. People of Jammu and Kashmir are no more victims of dual citizenship. We all are citizens of India and we will celebrate Diwali with this pride," he said addressing a public gathering here.

Madhav said that October 26 is also a special day for the region as on this day Maharaja Hari Singh had signed the Instrument of Accession (IoA), a legal document declaring that the region accedes to India.

"However, this time around, the day is even more special as we have done what Maharaja had always intended to do. We have integrated Jammu and Kashmir with India. Article 370 and 'special status' to the region were never the intention of Maharaja Hari Singh," he said.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government did not take the decision to scrap Article 370 to score any political points or for any ideological beliefs.

"The decision was only taken for the welfare of the people of Jammu and Kashmir after much deliberation," said Madhav.

The BJP leader also slammed the opposition parties for questioning the way special status to Jammu and Kashmir was repealed.

"Article 370 was incorporated into the Constitution of India in an undemocratic manner. It was the outcome of mutual understanding between two people. However, we have scrapped the Article in the most democratic way," said Madhav.

He said that the political leaders in the region claim that they also conducted Block Development Council (BDC) elections here but did not give any power to the panchayats.

"During their rule, the panchayat did not have any power. We are going to give Rs 20-25 lakh to each panchayat. We don't care which party wins and how many seats. It is our achievement that the people have participated in the BDC polls," said he.

( With inputs from ANI )