Centre gave quota to border residents: Jitendra Singh

Our Correspondent

Jammu, April 9

Union Minister and BJP Candidate for Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency Jitendra Singh said it was only the last 10 years after the BJP government was formed at the Centre that the people along the International border got family bunkers, road networks up to zero line, mobile towers, toilets, and also four per cent reservation in government jobs and admission to higher education institutions.

“Not only this, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who suggested that the last village on the border should not be referred to as the last village but rather should be referred to as the ‘first’ village, which would not only give esteem to that area and people living there but also would be a kind of recognition that the territory of India starts from that border village inwards toward the rest of the hinterland,” he said.

While participating and addressing a bike rally organised by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morch (BJYM), which covered the entire stretch of International border covering all the border villages up to zero line before culminating at Kootah in Kathua, Jitendra Singh said, “Before 2014, the people living in the border area constantly felt insecure and lived under constant fear of cross firing from across the border happening at any time, and the then Congress government and its allies did not pay any heed to their plight in spite of the fact that the people living here constitute the first line of defence in case of a foreign aggression.”

He said with the terrorism and insurgency on the higher side during the UPA rule, it was a common scene to see people getting uprooted from the border areas due to crossfire and then seeking shelter in a Panchayat Ghar, a government school, or a relative's house without being certain about the possibility of their taking refuge.

#BJP #Jammu #Lok Sabha #Udhampur