PM Inaugurates Vital Rail Link from Jammu Region to Kashmir Valley


As he spoke in Urdu, Manmohan Singh struck a chord with the people at the rally. He was cheered each time he spoke about ushering development in the state.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi told the rally that the people of Jammu and Kashmir "are fed up with violence. They want peace and development...

“I know very well that painful incidents happen here occasionally but our democracy has enough scope to sort out issues through dialogue and negotiations."

The inauguration of the rail link and the public rally marked the end of their visit to Jammu and Kashmir during which Manmohan Singh laid the foundation of a hydro-electric project on the Chenab river in Jammu region and took part in two events in the Kashmir Valley.

Srinagar, the summer capital of the state and the urban hub of the separatist campaign, remained tense for a second straight day Wednesday as security forces enforced restrictions for VVIP protection.

Motorists mostly stayed off the roads while people preferred to stay indoors. And although Srinagar was calm, militants shot dead a businessman turned politician in the northern town of Sopore.

Kifayat Hussain was killed from close range when he was talking on the telephone near a petrol pump. He had contested the 2008 assembly elections from Sopore.

On Monday, two guerrillas sneaked out of a lane to carry out a deadly ambush of an army convoy in Srinagar, killing eight soldiers and wounding over a dozen.

On Tuesday, Manmohan Singh and Gandhi also called on the wounded soldiers at a military base. The prime minister wished them speedy recovery.

Later, he told a meeting that terrorism would never succeed in Kashmir and that India was united in the war against terror.

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Source: IANS