Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made a strong defence of the repeal of the Constitution’s Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and said a “fresh approach” was needed to deal with the Kashmir issue pending for the last seven decades.
Addressing the nation from the rampart of the historic Red Fort on the occasion of the 73rd Independence Day, he said the old arrangement Article 370 had encouraged corruption and nepotism.
“There was injustice when it came to rights of women, children, Dalits, tribal communities... The dreams of sanitation workers were unfulfilled. How could we accept such a situation,” Modi said.
“We do not believe in creating problems or prolonging them. In less than 70 days of the new government versus the 70 years that it had lingered for, Article 370 has become history. In both Houses of Parliament, two-third of the members supported this step” Modi said on the move to end special status for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into federally-ruled territories.
In a veiled reference to the opposition parties, Modi said Article 370 had remained as a “temporary provision” for 70 years despite successive majority governments. It means they knew Article 370 “wasn’t good for the nation”, the Prime Minister reasoned, he added.
“If Article 370 was so important and life-changing, why did you not make Article 370 permanent in 70 years when you had the majority? You could have removed the temporary status of Article 370 but did not,” Modi said.
He said “everyone, wanted to get rid of this provision... but no one wanted to take the first step” due to “political reasons.”
Previous governments had made efforts in the past 70 years to deal with Kashmir but it did not bear results, he said, adding “a new approach was needed”.
“The spirit of one nation, one constitution has become a reality now. And India is proud of it,” he said.
Modi, in a major decision, announced the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as head of the three services—army, air force and navy--and said the post of CDS will ensure synergy among the three services and provide effective leadership to them.
Modi said the armed forces are the pride of India and stressed on the need for more coordination among the forces. “To further sharpen coordination between the forces, I want to announce a major decision from the Red Fort: India will have a Chief of Defence Staff- CDS. This is going to make the forces even more effective,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister referred to the changing security situation and changes in technology. India cannot afford to have one of three forces moving ahead or lagging behind, there will have to move in coordination, the Prime Minister said announcing the government will soon have a CDS.
A high-level committee set up by the then government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to examine the gaps in the country's security system in the wake of the Kargil war with Pakistan in 1999 had recommended the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff as a single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister.
A group of ministers analyzing the need for reforms in the national security system had also favoured a chief of defence staff. In 2012, a task force had also suggested the creation of the post of a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) which consists of the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and the senior-most among them acts as its chairman as per existing norm.
In his speech, Modi once again made a strong pitch for holding parliamentary and state legislative assembly polls together, saying the concept of 'one nation, one election' is imperative to make the country great.
Last August, the Law Commission had recommended simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to save public money.
The BJP government has been toying with the idea for quite some time now but most of the opposition parties disfavor it.
In June, Modi had called for a debate on simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies, keeping in view various aspects such as financial savings and consequent better utilization of resources.
The government think-tank, NITI Aayog, had last year suggested synchronized two-phase Lok Sabha and assembly polls from 2024 to ensure minimum campaign-mode disruption to governance.
In June, soon after returning to power, Modi had met leaders of various political parties having representation in Parliament to explore possibilities of holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections together.
Earlier this morning, Modi hoisted the national flag at the Red Fort ramparts and then inspected Guard of Honour.
Before going to the Red Fort, he paid homage to the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s Father of the Nation, at Rajghat.
