Kathmandu, Aug 27 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir has undergone a huge transformation since it was declared a Union Territory in 2019, where tourists need to book hotels well in advance today, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice-President Ram Madhav said at the NDTV World ‘Anviksha’ Summit in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Answering another query, the senior BJP leader asserted that the reported misappropriation of funds of Ayodhya’s Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was an “one-time unfortunate aberration” where the issue was “actually identified by the administration of the Temple only, not an outsider”.
Thursday’s Anviksha Summit focused on Nepal and its relationship with India, while also looking at the politics, economy, society, and future of the region.
The day-long dialogue brought together politicians, diplomats, business leaders, technology experts, young entrepreneurs, athletes and cultural figures from the two countries.
“If any friends from Nepal plan to visit Srinagar anytime, you better book your hotel rooms at least two months in advance. Otherwise, you may not get rooms. It is now such a popular tourist destination,” Ram Madhav said, adding, “So much has changed in Jammu and Kashmir in the last seven years.”
The state of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised as Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and a new Union Territory of Ladakh came into being on October 31, 2019, with the dismantling of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
“Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory in India and has undergone a transformation after that,” the BJP leader said.
“Prior to that, we did have a coalition government comprising the BJP and the regional party called PDP (Peoples Democratic Party). Necessity of the time compelled us to form a coalition government,” he said.
Declaring that it was the for the first time in almost a decade that he was sharing the information, Ram Madhav added that the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, told “something interesting to me” when the BJP and PDP finalised the alliance.
“He (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) said, ‘I’m placing the destiny of my 1.3 million people in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’,” Ram Madhav said.
“And I can tell you, after 10 years, we’ve bettered the destiny of Jammu and Kashmir. You have a better Jammu and Kashmir today. That was the greatest support, or effort, from Prime Minister Modi’s government that things have greatly improved in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
Meanwhile, calling the Ram Temple issue “an unfortunate aberration”, the BJP Vice-President said, “Remember the issue was actually identified by the administration of the Temple only, not an outsider.”
He asserted that it was the Temple administration that found out that “certain wrong things were happening in a small group, of about 20-25 people”, and that the issue was immediately addressed.
“They were immediately apprehended and the matter ended there,” he said.
He also added that of late the Temple administration has initiated several steps.
“Now they’re appointing a Chief Executive Officer to oversee the entire functioning of the Temple. So, one need not be worried about whether that would be continuing to happen or it was something very big happening all the time. No, it was a one-time aberration. Maybe there was some oversight. That oversight was immediately identified and it was plugged immediately,” he said.
“It’s a very-well managed Temple today,” Ram Madhav declared.
–IANS
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