Haldwani: BJP President Nitin Nabin on Thursday invoked the changing symbolism of Lal Chowk in Srinagar to highlight what he described as a transformation in Jammu and Kashmir under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Addressing an Ex-Servicemen Conference in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, Nabin recalled his visit to Srinagar’s Lal Chowk in 2011 during the BJP’s National Integration Yatra.
He said that witnessing a Pakistani flag being waved there had left him deeply disappointed and made him “bow his head in shame”.
Nabin contrasted that experience with the present-day scene at Lal Chowk, asserting that the national flag now flies there with pride.
“Earlier, the Pakistani flag was waved at Lal Chowk in Kashmir, but after the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, the Tricolour is now flying proudly at Lal Chowk,” the BJP President said.
He presented the change as a symbol of what he termed a broader shift in the country’s approach towards national security and Jammu and Kashmir after 2014.
He added that the sight of the Tricolour at Lal Chowk fills Indians and soldiers with pride and renewed confidence.
Linking the Lal Chowk reference with border security, Nabin also recalled his 2012 visit to the Bum La border during a “Shaheed Shradhanjali Yatra” to Tawang.
He said he had then witnessed poor road connectivity in the border region.
According to Nabin, the situation changed after the Narendra Modi government came to power, with paved roads reaching border areas by 2017.
The BJP Chief highlighted the Union government’s emphasis on treating border settlements as “first villages” rather than “last villages”, saying that development and security have increasingly been pursued together.
Nabin also cited the implementation of ‘One Rank, One Pension’, increased defence production and exports, and greater attention to military welfare as examples of the Narendra Modi government’s approach.
(IANS)
