ndia has the power of knowledge to rule the 21st century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today. Speaking to students at the fifth convocation of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra today, the PM said that Jammu and Kashmir represents a mini India.
“There is a mini India in Jammu and Kashmir. Dream to do something and not to become someone. India will lead the 21st century because the energy required for it is with us. India has 800 million youth power which is below 35 years. Dream of every youth can become a progress story for the country,” Modi said.
“Our nation is scaling new heights of progress and with such a youthful population we can achieve so much. Dream to do something and not to become someone,” he said.
Situation in Handwara continues to be tense after last week’s police firing in which five people were killed. Several towns and villages in north Kashmir are still under curfew and heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces has been made to avoid the repeat of the last week’s incident.
In her first public rally after taking over as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti said she is proud of living in India but added that the “pain in the heart of Kashmir” should be healed as soon as possible.
“In Pakistan, the government is fighting against its own people. I am proud to live in a nation where people from different religions live in peace and harmony but there is a pain. There is a pain in heart of Kashmir and we all have to heal it together,” Mufti said .
“We need to heal it so that the youth of Kashmir flourish like those in rest of the country,” she added.
Later addressing a rally in Katra, Modi lauded Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehboob Mufti and said she is working hard for the development of the state.
“Whenever we meet, Mehbooba ji always talks about the development of Jammu and Kashmir. When such a thought is there, development is bound to happen. Centre and the state government are working together for the infrastructure development here. Solution to all of our problems is development and only development,” PM Modi said.
“We remember Mufti Sahab (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed). He spent years in public life. He always talked about bridging the gap between Jammu and Srinagar,” he said.
Earlier, PM Modi inaugurated the 230-bed Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana super speciality hospital set up in Katra. The hospital is built at a cost of about Rs 300 crore and will be providing much needed specialised medical care to the people of Reasi district.
