Katra (Jammu and Kashmir): Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik on Tuesday said that he did not take any inputs from the intelligence agencies after taking charge, but instead directly spoke to the youth about their issues.
Addressing the seventh convocation of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra town, Malik, who is known for his candid remarks, said, "I have not taken input from the intelligence agencies. They are not telling the truth to Delhi or us."
"I directly talked to 150 to 200 youths and tried to identify those in colleges and universities who do not stand up for the national anthem. I talked to them and those in the age group of 25 to 30 years, whose dreams have been crushed, are misled and are angry... they do not want Hurriyat, us or Delhi government or autonomy because they were shown that the way to paradise is by getting martyred," he added.
The governor said he told such youths that they already have a paradise in Kashmir.
"I want to tell the people of Kashmir and the youth to understand the truth. You have the most beautiful place in the world to live.... Come forward and be part of the new phase and tread the path of progress and development," he said.
The governor said 22,000 Kashmiri youths are outside the state for education.
"Why do they have to go outside for education? It is because we have not been able to provide standard education in the state over the last many decades. If the money which was pumped into Kashmir was used by politicians and bureaucrats in a proper manner, the roof of your homes would have been of gold," he said.
Malik said he had sanctioned 53 degrees colleges last year and is opening 50 more colleges, including professional colleges, in the state shortly. "I have upgraded 242 schools to higher secondary school overnight," he said.
Alleging that "affluent and powerful" sections have crushed the dreams of the youths in Kashmir and destroyed their lives, he appealed to the people to understand the truth and join the Centre's efforts to usher peace and progress in the state.
Their own children are well settled but the child of a commoner is shown that "the way to paradise is to get killed", Malik said.
"Politicians, bureaucrats, affluent and powerful have crushed the dreams of the youths and destroyed their lives. The society leaders, religious preachers, Moulvis, Hurriyat and mainstream parties have used their influence to get the children of ordinary Kashmiris killed. None of them has lost their own child and nobody from their families joined terrorism," he added.
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