Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said one seat in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be reserved for displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Calling them the “naya Kashmir” — Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 — he said they will give justice to those deprived of their rights for the last 70 years.
Speaking in Lok Sabha about the two bills related to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said one of the two bills seeks to give representation to those who had to leave Kashmir due to terrorism. “One of two bills on Jammu and Kashmir seeks to nominate two Kashmiri migrant community members, including a woman, to the assembly,” he said.
About the predicament of Kashmiri Pandits, the union home minister said had terrorism been tackled at the beginning without considering vote-bank politics, Kashmiri Pandits would never have had to leave the Valley. “There was an era of terrorism (in Jammu and Kashmir) after the 1980s and it was a horrifying scene. Those who lived on the land considering it their country, were thrown out and no one cared about them, neither did they try to stop it. In fact, they were responsible to stop it, enjoying vacations in England,” he said.
He added: “When they (Kashmiri Pandits) were displaced, they were forced lived as refugees in their own country. Around 46,631 families were displaced in their own country. This Bill is to get them rights, it is to give them representation.”
Slamming the Congress in his speech, Shah further said the party has done the greatest harm to other backward classes while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to correct that by working relentlessly towards their welfare. “I believe the Modi government will return to power in 2024 and, by 2026, I hope there will be no terror incident in J&K,” he said,
At least 45,000 people, Shah said, have lost their lives due to terrorism in J&K so far. The central government’s focus is to end the terror ecosystem in the UT, he said. “This Bill is another addition to the hundreds of progressive changes brought in the country by PM Modi. (The opposition) raised some legal and constitutional issues. First, they said that the law, in which the amendment has brought, itself is challenged in the court. I want to ask (Hasnain) Masoodi, Article 370 was challenged for several years, why didn’t you stop it?” he asked.
The minister said he was glad that no one opposed the bills while deliberating upon them. “There is a difference between granting someone their rights, and granting someone their rights with dignity. The bill that I have brought pertains to bringing justice to and providing rights to those against whom injustice was done, who were insulted and ignored. In any society, those who are deprived should be brought forward. That is the basic sense of the Constitution of India. But they have to be brought forward in a way that doesn’t reduce their respect,” he added.
Shah also lauded the Modi government for revoking Article 370 and said a fair delimitation exercise was a part of this bill. On Tuesday (December 5), he moved the two bills in Lok Sabha. Initially, around four hours were set apart for the discussion. Speaking about the bills, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury pointed out that former and present ministers keep bringing former PM Jawaharlal Nehru into discussions on J&K, casting aspersions on him. “We are tired of hearing 70 years, I request that there be a day in which we discuss Jammu and Kashmir, and Nehru and his mistakes,” he added.
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