Rewarding separatists, torturing patriots has ended in J&K: L-G Sinha

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said that after a long wait of 67 years, provisions of the Constitution were made fully applicable to Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 (when the Centre revoked Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs), “ending the rule of discrimination and injustice”.

“Now J&K is moving ahead guided by the ideals of equity, and social and economic justice as enshrined in the Constitution by Baba Saheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar,” Sinha said.

He added that for 75 years, the Constitution has served as a beacon of equity, liberty and social justice, providing direction to the citizens of the country.

Sinha was speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations in Jammu, where he administered the reading of the Preamble to the Constitution and paid tributes to the founding fathers and architects of the nation’s supreme document.

The Lieutenant Governor said that from the very first day, his administration’s mission in J&K has been to improve the lives of people, eradicate discrimination and injustice, dismantle the terror ecosystem, and ensure that the benefits of Central schemes reach the most vulnerable sections of society.

“Those who ask what has been achieved over the past five years—I want to tell them that the practice of rewarding separatists and torturing patriots has been stopped completely,” he asserted.

Calling upon policymakers and officers to uphold constitutional values, Sinha emphasised the responsibility to protect and promote the rights of citizens.

“Our Constitution is venerable. It has paved the way for India’s progress. We must safeguard national unity and integrity, and foster self-confidence and self-respect in society. Every resource must be utilised to make India strong and self-reliant,” he said.

The UT-level event commemorating the 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution was organised by the Department of Culture, in collaboration with the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather; Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti, Shaleen Kabra; Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department, Shantmanu; Principal Secretary Culture, Brij Mohan Sharma; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar; IGP Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti, and other senior officials were present at the event.