New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government has made a “solemn promise” for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and will stand by it and that Centre is working very hard to create the right conditions.

In an interview to Delhi based news agency PTI, PM Modi, on Srinagar voter turnout, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have seen the NDA government’s commitment to democracy enhancement in the region, “even at the cost of us sacrificing power for ourselves”.

He noted that the restoration of statehood is a “solemn promise we have made and we stand by it.” “We are working very hard to create the right conditions so that it can be done expeditiously.”

The Centre abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, in August 2019 and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

He said Srinagar, once a hotbed for all kinds of radical elements, witnessed the highest voter turnout in decades. Srinagar recorded a 36.7 per cent turnout – the highest since 1996 – in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 13.

“The progress that Jammu and Kashmir has made in the last five years gives me immense hope that we are on the right path to restore statehood. We want to create a Jammu and Kashmir where violence is history, prosperity is destiny. This is our long term strategy for Kashmir. Our aspiration is that Jammu and Kashmir regains its stature as the hub of culture, knowledge and tourism along with becoming a centre of futuristic technologies like AI (Artificial intelligence),” PM Modi said.