Srinagar, July 24 -- Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Javid Dar on Thursday said that the process for holding Panchayat elections in the Union Territory is underway and the government is keen to restore grassroots democratic institutions at the earliest.

Dismissing claims that National Conference is reluctant about Panchayat polls, Dar said the party has a strong record of conducting such elections in 1998, 2011, and 2020.

"There is a history of the National Conference. When Dr. Farooq Abdullah returned to power in 1996, Panchayat elections were held in 1998. Later in 2011, during Omar Abdullah's tenure, I was the Minister of State and we witnessed record-breaking polling in rural...