Decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances: LG Murmu

Ahead of the first-year-anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation from Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has revealed that decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances.
Murmu also said that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed tremendous development in the last year. “Some people are seeing electricity for the first time in 70 years,” he said.
Murmu, 60, an IAS officer of the 1985 batch, worked as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s additional principal secretary during his tenure as Gujarat chief minister. He became the administrative head of Kashmir and Jammu provinces after the Central government, on August 5, 2019, abrogated special status of the erstwhile state and also announced its bifurcation into two Union Territories (UT) – Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
He is the first lieutenant governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir following the bifurcation of the state.
Emphasizing on participation from the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Murmu said there has been a lot of changes in the Union Territory with unprecedented participation of the people. He further stated that the administration prioritized the development of the region with youth-oriented programs.
Talking about the current situation in the UT, he said people’s mood is upbeat and there’s only some disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Normalcy persists in J&K,” he added.
While talking about the release of former Jammu Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, Murmu said that a continuous assessment of the situation is taking place and accordingly “we will be making a decision on the release of the leaders.”
“There are definite guidelines and provisions for the release of the leaders. The time prescribed under the law will be followed,” he added.
He also said that elections will be held in J&K soon and the Election Commission (EC) to decide on the exact date of the Assembly Polls soon.  
Mufti and many other leaders of Kashmir, including Farooq Abdullah, were put in detention following the abrogation of Article 370. Earlier, the former J-K Chief Minister’s detention was extended on May 5 for three months.
Murmu also hit out at Pakistan for fueling terrorism in the valley and keeping ‘separatism’ alive. He said those who were misleading the youth of J&K are getting desperate.
“Pakistan is trying to keep ‘separatism’ alive, while it has been fading,” he added.
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