NEW DELHI — Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that elections will soon be held in J&K since the delimitation process has already started.

Speaking at the virtual launch of the district good governance index in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said, “Delimitation has started and elections will soon be held.”

He reiterated that he has given assurance in the Lok Sabha that as soon as the situation becomes normal in Jammu and Kashmir, statehood will be given back.

He slammed some leaders for spreading false propaganda and alleged that they are doing so for their own political benefits.

“There has been a change after 2019, there were 87 MLAs in Union Territory and only three families were ruling, but today there is 30,000 public representatives. These families said that after the abrogation of Article 370, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has worsened, but I want to tell them there has been a 40 per cent decrease in terror related incidents and 87 per cent decrease in killings.

“I want to ask these three families why they were not able to do so in the last so many years. Why are they misinforming people,” Shah said.

Shah attacked former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

He released the District Good Governance Index for 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, a move that will make Jammu and Kashmir the first Union Territory in the country to have an index of this kind.

The District Good Governance Index of Jammu and Kashmir was prepared by DARPG in collaboration with the government of Jammu and Kashmir in pursuance of the announcements made in the “Behtar e-Hukumat – Kashmir Aelamia” resolution adopted on July 2, 2021, in the Regional Conference on Replication of Good Governance Practices held in Srinagar.