JK gets grassroot 'autonomy' after 72 years of India's independence: Singh

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said Jammu and Kashmir got grassroot "autonomy" after 72 years of India's independence, even though for over half a century the erstwhile state was ruled by political parties whose main agenda and public stance was for "autonomy".

In an interactive session with elected 'sarpanch' and chairmen of Block Development Councils (BDCs) from far-flung areas of Kashmir valley, Singh said it was for future historians and researchers to decipher and tell the world what was meant by the so-called idea of "autonomy" propagated by the former rulers.

"Jammu and Kashmir got grassroot autonomy after 72 years, even though for over half a century after independence, the erstwhile state was ruled by political parties whose main agenda and public stance was for autonomy," he said.

The union minister for the PMO said the former rulers of Jammu and Kashmir vehemently avoided holding Panchayat and local body elections, and when eventually the polls took place at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these political parties decided to boycott.

The Sarpanch, Panch and Block chairmen, who met Singh, hailed the Modi government for holding panchayat elections and also the election to the Block Development Councils.

They demanded that the District Development Council elections should also be held soon so that the process of three-tier democracy gets fully accomplished, he said.

Singh said the Modi government lost no time in holding elections to the local bodies and on the other hand the implementation of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments have ensured that central grants directly reach the elected representatives.

He said with the passage of time, Jammu and Kashmir would experience true democracy which would have emerged from the bottom and not imposed from the top.