Haldwani, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
BJP president Nitin Nabin on Thursday invoked the changing symbolism of Srinagar’s Lal Chowk to highlight what he described as a transformation in Jammu and Kashmir under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Addressing an Ex-Servicemen Conference in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, Nabin recalled his visit to Lal Chowk in 2011 during the BJP’s National Integration Yatra. He said seeing a Pakistani flag being waved there had left him deeply disappointed and made him “bow his head in shame”.
Contrasting that experience with the present, Nabin said the Tricolour now flies proudly at the prominent Srinagar landmark.
“Earlier, the Pakistani flag was waved at Lal Chowk in Kashmir, but after the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, the Tricolour is now flying proudly at Lal Chowk,” the BJP chief said.
Nabin presented the change as a symbol of what he described as a broader shift in India’s approach to national security and Jammu and Kashmir since 2014. He said the sight of the national flag at Lal Chowk fills citizens and soldiers with pride and renewed confidence.
He also linked the Lal Chowk reference with developments along India’s borders, recalling his 2012 visit to Bum La during a Shaheed Shradhanjali Yatra to Tawang. Nabin said he had then witnessed poor road connectivity in the border region.
According to the BJP chief, infrastructure in border areas improved after the Modi government came to power, with paved roads reaching border regions by 2017.
Nabin highlighted the government’s policy of treating border settlements as “first villages” rather than “last villages”, saying development and national security were increasingly being pursued together.
He also cited the implementation of One Rank, One Pension, increased defence production and exports, and greater focus on the welfare of armed forces personnel as examples of the Modi government’s approach.
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