Return to Valley birthright of Kashmiri Pandits: Singh

Hitting out at those opposing the government's rehabilitation plan for Kashmiri Pandits, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said it was the birthright of the community to settle in the Valley and reiterated the Centre's commitment to their "honorable and safe return".
"Those who oppose the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley are spreading negativity, it is their birth as well as fundamental right to return to Kashmir Valley," Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said at a a function in Chinore area of Jammu today.
He said if Kashmiri Pandits, who are being denied their right to return, start raising questions on the people who oppose their rehabilitation then how would such leaders react.

"If the Kashmir Pandits living in various parts of the country start questioning these Kashmiri separatists and mainstream politicians... Then how would these so called leaders react?" he asked.
He said that the central government was committed to honorable and safe return of the Kashmiri Pandit community to Kashmir Valley.
Meanwhile, highlighting the achievements of the Narendra Modi government, Singh said in one year India has achieved what it could not do in the past six decades.

"The success of schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana and other social security schemes is a glaring example of the success of the Narendra Modi-led government," he said.

He said despite being ideologically different, entering with an alliance with PDP was a compulsion for BJP to respect the mandate of the people who voted for development and good governance. "That does not mean that we have compromised with our core ideology, our ideology remains the same, and we strongly follow the footsteps of people like Shyama Prasad Mukharjee" he said.
Singh said that the government would ensure development reaches every nook and corner of the state and not a single individual in the country is left out of this.
"Our aim is to take development to every nook and corner and if a single person is left untouched that would be a failure which we will never let happens," he said.

Taking a dig at Congress for targeting the Modi government, Singh said, "Congress leaders are unaware of the facts, they are giving statements which are far from reality. Congress should give attention towards its own leadership which is nowhere present on the ground," he said.
On the ongoing power tussle between the Delhi Lt Governor and the Chief Minister, Singh said it seems that no senior bureaucrat was willing to work under Arvind Kejriwal which was not a healthy sign. "It is important to take bureaucracy along to ensure the development of Delhi," he said.