• Source:JND
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J-K Assembly Election 2024: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, in a rally on Wednesday, reiterated the promise of restorating the statehood of earstwhile state Jammu and Kashmir, sharpening his attack on the ruling BJP. Rahul Gandhi assured the people in Jammu that the opposition INDIA Bloc would fight for JK's statehood in the Parliament "as well as on the streets".

Attacking the BJP, Rahul Gandhi further said that the saffron party wants to end the prosperity of the people in Jammu and Kashmir. "Until the lieutenant governor is here, outsiders will continue to get benefits at the expense of the people of J&K," he said at a rally in Jammu.

Rahul said that this election is all about people's rights. "We will ensure statehood, and then the government will protect local industries. The doors of banks will be opened for common people," the Raebareli MP said, claiming that there has been no instance since independence when a state was downgraded to Union Territory.

"We thought that the statehood would be restored before elections, and it was the right way, but they went for polls first," he said, adding, "If the BJP did not do it for any reason, then the first job under the INDIA government will be to give statehood because this is your right".

Rahul alleged the government is working for big business tycoons and smaller businessmen are being tortured by the wrong policies of the state. "While the entire government worked for Ambani and Adani, two weapons—GST [Goods and Services Tax] and demonetisation were used to clear the way for these two billionaires at the cost of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME)," he said.

He further claimed that employment will only be generated if small and medium businesses stand on their feet. "I just met professionals and entrepreneurs; they told me how the spine of the MSME sector has been broken here [Jammu]," he added.

Jammu and Kashmir is holding its first Assembly election after a decade. The state is set to elect a government after over six years of Central rule. J&K was divided into two Union territories when the region was stripped of its semi-autonomous status under the Constitution’s Article 370 in August 2019.