"Sporadic Terror Incidents Will Take Time To Stop In J&K": Minister

The number of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has come down considerably as development has picked pace there, claimed Union minister VK Singh on Thursday, asserting it will take time to stop "sporadic" terror incidents as Pakistan continues to meddle in India's internal matters.

VK Singh, who was in Madhya Pradesh to campaign for the BJP ahead of the year-end assembly polls, was speaking to reporters in Indore, a day after an Army colonel, a major, a deputy superintendent of police and a jawan were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Minister of state for road transport and highways and civil aviation said the misconception spread by separatists that J&K is different from the rest of the country has also been dispelled.

"Infrastructure, industries and tourism are developing at a fast pace in Jammu and Kashmir. If the common Kashmiri citizen is asked, he will tell you that he is very happy with this development," VK Singh said.

"Sporadic terror incidents (in J&K) will continue to take place," he said, a day after three soldiers and a police officer laid down their lives fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

"It will take time to stop because there is a country (Pakistan) which may have gone bankrupt but its habit of interfering with India's internal affairs continues. When that country is torn apart, these things will automatically disappear," he said.

The Union minister said everyone in the country is saddened by the death of the security personnel in J&K on Wednesday but the Congress did nothing to mourn their sacrifice.

"At the very least, they (Congress) could taken out a candlelight procession. In the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, soldiers did not even get bulletproof jackets. These jackets have been made available to soldiers since 2014," said VK Singh, who had also served as the Army chief.

VK Singh said Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and some locals were creating hurdles in the government's efforts to resettle Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley for their selfish interests. He said, "... But I am saying this with great confidence that this atmosphere will not last long. Just wait for a few more days." 

The Union minister also said that while the British left after India's independence, some forces took political advantage of the "anti-Sanatan Dharma views" created by them in the southern part of the country.

"DMK is a political party born out of such forces. Today the political existence of this party is in danger, so its leaders started talking against Sanatan Dharma," he said.

The BJP has been attacking the opposition following DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's controversial statement that Sanatan Dharma is against social justice and that it should be eradicated. A Raja, another DMK leader, likened Sanatan Dharma to diseases.

VK Singh also hit out at the "INDIA" bloc of opposition parties, saying the acronym does not represent the country India. He alleged that the name of the opposition alliance has been kept in an attempt to fool the people to hide its real face. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)