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Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani on Wednesday described the free and fair election in Jammu and Kashmir as a 'victory for India and the triumph of democracy', and said it would improve India's image internationally.
Addressing a press conference at Vakanaghat, 25km from Simla in Himachal Pradesh, after inaugurating the Jaypee University of Information Technology, Advani said Pakistan had been sponsoring cross-border terrorism to create terror by killing innocent people, but this time its target was democracy.
He said the people of Kashmir participated in the election despite threats from militant groups and defeated the designs of the terrorists.
Advani said the government would resume talks for the restoration of peace in the valley with the elected representatives as well as opposition and militant groups, provided the militants agreed to lay down their arms.
He said the election was over in the valley, and Pakistan was going to the polls with two of its former prime ministers debarred. The flourishing democracy in India and the dictatorship in Pakistan present a picture of contrast, he said.
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