BJP ready for assembly and parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Gool: Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Saturday his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ready for assembly and parliamentary polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here in the hilly Ramban district, he said, "It is not in my control to say when the elections will take place or whether parliamentary and assembly elections in the state will be held together."

"The Election Commission is an independent constitutional body and will take a decision on the schedule of the elections in the state on its own after a review... The BJP is ready for the elections, even if it is held today," he said.

Jammu and Kashmir is currently under President's rule.

Accusing the previous governments of neglecting the hilly districts of the state, the Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office said, 
"Development of hilly and far-flung areas, including the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, is the priority of the central government."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given clear-cut directions for accelerating the pace of development in the mountainous areas to bring them at par with the plains, he said.

He said a major bridge over the Chenab river is coming up in Ramban. The project has been sanctioned and the work will start anytime soon. He directed the deputy commissioner of Ramban to submit a proposal ? for a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Gool.

Earlier, the minister lauded the Army for organising a two-day multi-speciality medical camp under Operation Sadbhavna in the area. The camp, organised by the Army Medical Corps in association with the district administration at the Government Higher Secondary School, Gool, drew a large number of patients.

Singh interacted with some patients and reviewed the facilities in the camp in the presence of Director General of Army Medical Corps Lt. Gen Manmoy Ganguly and other senior Army and civil officials.