Amit Shah has said that the Modi government's Kashmir policy has been vindicated by the successful polling in Jammu and Kashmir, where even separatists have voted «overwhelmingly», as he assured that the assembly elections in the region will be held before September 30. Once the elections are over, the government will start the process of restoring statehood to the Union Territory, Shah said in an interview to PTI late Saturday.
«I have said in Parliament that we will give the statehood after the assembly elections,» he said, adding that everything is going according to plan, such as the surveys of the backward classes and delimitation exercise of the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies.
«We have completed the delimitation process. Because the reservation can be given only after the delimitation process is completed. Because we have to know about the status of various castes (to give reservation). That has been done. Lok Sabha election is also over (in Jammu and Kashmir). Next is the assembly election which will also be held. We will complete the process before the Supreme Court deadline,» he said.
On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission of India to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024.