Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at rally in Udhampur. (Image: TV Grab/ CNN-News18)
Udhampur: After inaugurating the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public rally in Udhampur and said, on the one hand, some misguided youngsters were pelting stones, while others from the same society constructed tunnels.
Before hitting out at stone pelters and neighbour Pakistan, and invoking former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Modi asked the attendees to switch on the flash of their phones and raise their hands.
The “Modi-Modi” chants added to an already fervent atmosphere, even before the PM arrived at the dais to speak.
In a lively speech, PM Modi paid attention to the youth of the valley in particular. Declaring the inauguration of the tunnel as a leap towards development, Modi said the youth in Kashmir had two choices. “On one side, you have tourism, and on the other, you have terrorism,” he said.
Alluding to the violence the state has remained mired in, he said: “Had we focused on tourism in the last forty years, the entire world would have descended upon Kashmir.”In an apparent attack on Pakistan, Modi said: “Those across the border can’t even take care of themselves. We want to show our fellow Kashmiris across the border how Kashmir progresses,” he added.
Invoking former PM Vajpayee, Modi said: “Following the mantra of Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat, and Jamhooriyat, we will take Kashmir to the new heights of development.”Earlier in the day, PM Modi inaugurated India’s longest road tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, making it operational for traffic.