Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha said here on Saturday the dilution of Article 370 and 35(A) was “imperative to make J&K a developed and dignified Union Territory (UT)”.
“The decision taken last year was historic. A new era of normalcy and development has dawned in J&K in the last one year,” Mr. Sinha said after unfurling the tricolour amid tight security.
Five principles
He said his administration was working on the five principles of transparency in governance, empowering grassroots democracy, people’s welfare, accelerated development and creation of employment opportunities.
The venue was put under multi-tier security in the wake of reports of militant attacks on the occasion.
In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s I-Day speech was televised live on the big screens set up at several spots here. However, all of them were heavily guarded which resulted in skeletal traffic with people preferring to stay indoors.
The mobile Internet service was snapped till noon “as a precautionary measure”. The day, however, passed off peacefully.
Flags unfurled in north, central and south Kashmir
Scores of Block Development Council chairpersons also unfurled the flag in north, central and south Kashmir.
In his I-Day message, recently-released Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone said: “Happy Independence Day to all. Hope we stop customising independence. There cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ concept. Independence is defined by its vastness. By differentness not sameness.”
The Congress also celebrated the Independence Day at the party office in Srinagar.
