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Union Home Minister’s reply on working of Ministry of Home Affairs in Rajya Sabha
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah on 21 March 2025 replied to a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Rajya Sabha. While replying to the discussion that lasted for two days, Shri Shah said under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the last 10 years, the Ministry of Home Affairs has worked to strengthen the morale of our security personnel by establishing strong political will and a robust legislative framework. Following is the excerpts of his reply in the Rajya Sabha:
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister, Shri Amit Shah said the security, development, and sovereignty of this country have always been challenged by three major problems – terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Left Wing Extremism, and insurgency in the Northeast. He mentioned that these three deep-rooted issues have disrupted the peace of the country for almost four decades, raised questions on the country’s security, and hindered the pace of national development. He added that due to these three problems, nearly 92,000 citizens of the country had lost their lives over the span of four decades. He further stated that before Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, no coordinated efforts had been made for the complete eradication of these deep-rooted issues. He said, Terrorism, Naxalism and Insurgency are on the verge of ending under Modi government.
Zero-tolerance policy against terrorism
Union Home Minister stated that earlier, in Kashmir, terrorists would frequently infiltrate from a neighboring country, carry out bomb blasts and murders, and the attitude of the then central governments towards these incidents was lenient. They would remain silent, afraid to speak out, and were also fearful of losing their vote bank. He mentioned that after Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism was adopted. He said, under the Modi government, no one has the courage to carry out bomb blasts in the country. After our government came to power, attacks occurred in Uri and Pulwama, but within just 10 days, we responded by entering Pakistan’s territory and carrying out surgical strikes.
Root cause of separatism was Article 370
Shri Amit Shah said that the root cause of separatism in Kashmir was Article 370. He mentioned that due to political compulsion and vote bank politics, Article 370 continued for many years. The Home Minister said that on 5th August, 2019, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi abolished Article 370 in this very Parliament. He added that the framers of our Constitution had a vision that there should be one country, one symbol, and one constitution, and PM Modi fulfilled this dream. Shri Shah further stated that on 5th-6th August, 2019, a new era of one law, one symbol, and one leader began, and from that moment, the process of permanently integrating Kashmir with India began.
Anti-Corruption Bureau was established
He said in Jammu and Kashmir, Dogri, Hindi, and Urdu were granted the status of official languages of the state. To curb corruption, an Anti-Corruption Bureau was established, and all national laws were also adopted in the region. PM Modi also abolished the permit system at the Pathankot checkpoint, ushering in a new era of democracy, development, and prosperity. He mentioned that during the 33 years of the previous governments, cinemas were not allowed to open in the region, but under Modi government, they were opened. For 34 years, permission for Tazia processions during Muharram was not granted, but it was allowed during our time. Previously, it was very difficult to hoist the national flag at even Lal Chowk, but now there is not a single house there where the Tricolor was not hoisted during the “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign and the celebration of Krishna Janmashtami was held at Lal Chowk.
Restriction on passports to supporters of terrorism
Shri Amit Shah stated that the Modi government took several steps that resulted in the near elimination of the number of Indian children joining terrorists. He mentioned that, ten years ago, there was glorification of terrorists and large processions were held, but under Modi government, not a single procession took place; those who were killed were buried at the place where they fell. He added that many relatives of terrorists were ruthlessly removed from government jobs. The government also imposed restrictions on giving government jobs, passports, and contracts to the supporters of terrorism and terrorists.
From 2014 to 2024, terrorist incidents dropped
The Home Minister said that between 2004 and 2014, there were 7,217 terrorist incidents, but from 2014 to 2024, this number dropped to 2,242. During this period, the total number of deaths decreased by 70%, the number of civilian deaths decreased by 81%, and the causalities of security personnel decreased by 50%. From 2010 to 2014, an average of 2,654 organized stone-pelting incidents occurred every year, but in 2024, not a single such incident occurred. There were 132 organized strikes, but now there are none. In stone-pelting incidents, 112 civilians were killed, and 6,000 were injured, but now stone-pelting itself has stopped. In 2004, there were 1,587 terrorist incidents, while in 2024, this number was reduced to just 85. In 2004, the number of civilian deaths was 733, but in 2024, it was reduced to 26, and the number of security forces’ deaths dropped from 331 in 2004 to 31 in 2024.
For the development of Kashmir
Shri Amit Shah stated that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved 63 projects worth Rs. 80,000 crore for the development of Kashmir in 2015. Out of these, Rs. 51,000 crore was spent, and 53 projects have been fully implemented. He mentioned that between 2019 and 2024, 40,000 government jobs were provided, 1.51 lakh OBC children were given self-employment opportunities through the Vishwakarma Yojana, 5,184 youth clubs are working on skill development, and 18,000 youths were provided with their own taxis. He further said that by introducing an attractive industrial policy, Rs. 12,000 crore worth of investments have been realized on the ground in Kashmir, and MoUs worth Rs. 1,10,000 crore are currently being implemented. Shri Shah highlighted that earlier in the entire 70 years only Rs. 14,000 crore worth of investment had come to the region, while in the 10 years of Modi Ji’s leadership, Rs. 12,000 crore worth of investment has already started yielding production. Tourism in Kashmir has also restarted, with a record 2.11 crore tourists visiting in 2023. He added that Rs. 250 crore has been invested in tourism.
Foundation of democracy in Kashmir
Union Home Minister said that Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation of democracy in Kashmir. He mentioned that under the previous government’s rule, Jammu and Kashmir had 90 legislators and 6 MPs, but now there are 34,262 elected representatives in the region. He also highlighted that during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, not a single bullet was fired, and 98% of the people cast their votes. Shri Shah further stated that today, Jammu and Kashmir has AIIMS, IITs, and IIMs. There were only 4 medical colleges earlier, but now there are 15, along with 15 new nursing colleges.
Cannot tolerate terrorism or terrorists
Home Minister emphasized that we deal with terrorists by directly targeting between their eyes as soon as they are spotted. He affirmed that their government cannot tolerate terrorism or terrorists, as there is no place in the country for those who play with the blood of citizens.
Fighting against Naxalism
Shri Amit Shah said that we started fighting against Naxalism using the latest technology. He mentioned that drone surveillance and satellite imaging, combined with artificial intelligence, were used to develop solutions and extract results. Based on this data analysis, we were able to precisely deploy security forces to the right locations, and this approach formed the basis of our operations.