Asserting that the growing tourism is a "living example" of the 'Change in Jammu & Kashmir', Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that the UT has seen a footfall of more than two  crore tourists in the last one year.  

In an exclusive interview to PTI, Dr Jitendra Singh said, "And that has happened because terrorism has declined. Previously due to growing terrorism, not many tourists used to visit Kashmir," he added.

Responding to a question on the opposition's allegations that the government is against elections in J&K, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear several times in the Parliament that elections will be held at an appropriate time.

Citing Supreme Court's rule on the elections, he said, "Now the Supreme Court has even ordered that the elections in Jammu & Kashmir should be conducted by September and the Home Minister has also stated that. If Congress is still alleging that BJP doesn't want the elections to be conducted, whose words will they believe now?"

He further underlined that the previous governments in Jammu & Kashmir had kept the people of the region deprived of development due to their politics of appeasement.

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SNC/ST