NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a visit to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He visited the Udhampur area of the Jammu region to address a public rally where he said that Statehood will be restored soon in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the state elections will happen too.

PM Modi also challenged the Congress party for bringing back Article 370. He said, "I challenge Congress to announce that they will get back Article 370, I assure them that this country won't be ready to even see their face". PM Modi also added that "Congress, PDP, and NC want to regress J&K back into the old days. In J&K politics means Of the family, By the family, and For the family"

PM Modi said, "They had kept J&K into a delusion as if Article 370 was a lifeline. It was a wall because of which people in J&K could not peek outside and outsiders could not look into J&K".

PM Modi also said that it's the first election that the political parties would be fighting over the issues of development and not terrorism, border issues, separatism, and stone pelting. ''Jammu and Kashmir have got rid of terrorism, separatism and stone-throwing and no more youths of the valley are getting attracted to this menace''.

PM Modi also said that the rights of women and others have been returned. “Ask women of J&K how their rights have been given back. Ask Dalits and Valmikis who have rights ensured in the Constitution which were not there till the abrogation of this article,” he said.

While talking about Amarnath Yatra and Vaishno Devi, he said it used to be a big task to conduct these peacefully, but the government has tightened the noose on terror and everything is peaceful now. He also said that Jammu and Kashmir is on the road to development and that his govt will keep working on it.