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Updated: Sep 30, 2019 17:21 IST

Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said the nullification of Articles 370 and 35-A that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir was a true tribute to nearly 35,000 jawans martyred over the years in the country.

Addressing the 27th Raising Day of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) in Ahmedabad, Shah said the move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring “permanent peace” in the state.

“Just now we honoured and gave medals to the families of jawans who sacrificed their lives for the country and also to those jawans who fought bravely. But I believe a true tribute was paid to nearly 35,000 martyred jawans by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by scrapping Articles 370 and 35-A, which has started the process of continuous and permanent peace in Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah said.

He said that the Modi government re-elected with a bigger mandate took the decision which “no one dared to in the past 70 years” despite several security personnel dying in J&K.

“The sacrifice of scores of jawans used to demand from us to bring an atmosphere in Kashmir where peace prevailed forever and no situation arose where they would lose their lives,” he said.

Congratulating PM Modi for the “bold step”, Shah said he would like to “ensure” the people of Kashmir that the state will now tread the path of development and peace. “Anyone trying to disturb the peace process will be given a befitting reply by our forces,” he added.

The home minister also gave 20 gallantry medals to CRPF personnel, including some posthumously, for exhibiting bravery in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir and anti-Naxal operations in various states.

This is the first time Shah attended an event of the RAF post the August 5 decision on Article 370.

The CRPF is the lead force deployed in the Kashmir region post this decision and at present, nearly 1.5 lakh of its personnel are there for conducting counter-terrorism operations and rendering regular law and order duties.

The RAF Raising Day is on October 7, the day it became operational in 1992, but the event was rescheduled to Monday owing to some commitments of the home minister.

(With inputs from PTI)