Asserting that there is no restriction in Kashmir to hoist the national flag after the abrogation of Article 370, Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said that he was once jailed for hoisting the Tricolor in the Union Territory.

"I was longest serving BJP Youth Wing President, from 2010 to 2017. I took a yatra from Kolkata to Kashmir to hoist the national flag. I was put in jail to hoist the national flag in Jammu and Kashmir. Today, I see Jammu and Kashmir is a different state with no such restrictions," Thakur said while speaking at the first Y20 meeting under G20 India at IIT Guwahati. The minister further said that after August 2019, when the article was ruled out by the Central government there are no such restrictions in the territory.

"In Jammu and Kashmir, it was difficult to even hoist the national flag. But after the abrogation of Article 370, you could see last year during the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' program, there was a Tiranga hoisted on each and every house in Kashmir," Thakur said.

The first Y20 meeting in 2023, under G20 India, began in Guwahati on February 6.

The deliberations at the Youth20 were aimed at reaching out to the youth and holding consultations with them for ideas "for a better tomorrow".

More than 150 Youth delegates from G20 countries are participating in the three-day meeting.

Over 12,000 college and university students are also expected to participate in these events.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will also present research papers from students and academicians of Assam.

The state government, along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, has taken up several initiatives to make the youth aware of Y20 and involve them in the process of nation-building. (ANI)