New Delhi: “Development” and building of “confidence” are the key to address the problem of Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said tonight while hoping that the youth of the Valley won’t get “misled”.

Amid ongoing unrest in the Valley, he emphasised on the need for taking Kashmir ahead with peace and unity while ensuring that it remains “paradise” in the real sense.

“The seeds (of the current unrest) were sown during Independence. Every government has had to face this problem.

This not a new problem but an old one,” he told Network18 in an interview when asked how to solve the problem of the valley.

Asserting that “solution to the problem” would be found, Modi said, “Kashmir needs ‘vikas’ (development) and ‘vishwas’ (confidence). 125 crore people of the country are ready to give ‘vikas’ and there has never been dearth of ‘vishwas’.”

He said there has to be forward movement on the basis of ‘vikas’ and ‘vishwas’ and he was confident on this front.

“I hope Kashmiri youth will not be misled and will move ahead with peace, unity, harmony. I hope Kashmir will remain the ‘jannat’ (paradise),” the Prime Minister said.

Modi was asked about apprehensions that there will polarisation in Uttar Pradesh during the upcoming Assembly polls which are seen as ‘mini-national elections.

“BJP always contests on the plank of development and will contest these polls as well on the plank of development,” the Prime Minister asserted.

“In our country, the poison of casteism and communalism has caused a lot of harm. Vote bank politics has destroyed our country. During the last (Lok Sabha) polls, there was no atmosphere for vote bank politics but for development. A big section of the society has turned towards that. May be people in UP will vote keeping in mind the development and benefit of UP,” he said.

He emphasised that development is essential for the welfare of farmers and villages as also for creation of jobs for the youth.

He underlined the need for peace, unity and harmony to take the nation forward.

Modi said it was “unfortunate” that everything in the country was being linked to elections and politics.

“Even if decisions are taken one and a quarter year ahead of polls, it is linked to elections,” he said, while taking a dig at “super political pundits” who cannot shun politics and make prescriptions while sitting in “AC rooms”.

He also noted that the country “unfortunately” witnesses elections regularly, because of which everything is linked to polls.

“Every decision is weighed in the balance of elections…

It is time to delink decisions taken from the elections… The early we do so, the better it is. When the elections come, there will be manifestos… It is need of the hour to separate politics from work,” he said.

He said a number of political parties have told him, “some openly and some in hush hush manner” that they favour simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

They have said that this practice needs to be ended, he said.

“But it cannot be done by the government or one party alone. When all parties think and decide under the leadership of Election Commission, then only things can happen.

Whatever may be my views but I can’t do as we are in a democracy. But I hope someday there will be comprehensive deliberations and discussions on what is good or bad,” he said.

PTI