PM lists steps taken post Article 370 scrapping, says anti-corruption body set up in J&K

New Delhi, Feb 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said an anti-corruption bureau has been established in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time after its special status was scrapped.

Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha on a motion thanking the president for his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, he said for the first time in decades, people of Jammu and Kashmir got benefits of reservation.

There were BDC polls, RERA came into being there, he said, adding for the first time, Jammu and Kashmir got a comprehensive start-up, trade and logistics policy. For the first time, an anti-corruption bureau was set up in JK, he said.

He attacked the Opposition for not offering any "constructive suggestion" during the debate, saying they made a "virtue out of stagnation".

Modi said one member said the decision to abrogate the special status for Jammu and Kashmir in August last year was taken without discussion. "This observation is not correct. The entire nation has seen the detailed discussions on the subject. MPs have voted in favour of the decisions."

"People do not forget things easily. I want to remind the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha about the manner in which proceedings regarding the creation of Telangana took place" when the house was locked and televised address stopped when the bill to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh was passed, he said.

The prime minister said there is "unprecedented peace in Northeast", countering the Opposition charge of unrest in the region following an amendment to the citizenship law.