The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill have been taken up together for consideration in the Lok Sabha…reports Asian Lite News
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday moved two Bills in Lok Sabha — the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill have been taken up together for consideration in the Lok Sabha.
Around four hours had been initially set apart for the discussion.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur said: “Earlier there were stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir. Today, there are no such incidents. Today, not only at Lal Chowk but the Indian flag is hoisted in every lane in Kashmir.”
While deliberating upon the two amendment Bills on reorganisation and reservation in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress MP Manish Tewari questioned the constitutionality of repealing Articles 370 and 35A.
The Congress MP recalled the President’s Proclamation released in 2018 and pointed out a clause which referred to the termination of Sections 1 and 2 of Article 3 of the Constitution.
Tewari alleged that the idea of repealing Article 370 was incorporated in the Proclamation leading up to the President’s Rule in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Responding to the remarks, Home Minister Amit Shah said the clause in the Proclamation was a necessary step as passing the state’s budget would only be possible then at a time when the state’s legislative assembly stood dissolved.
Tewari responded to this saying Article 3 does not talk about the functioning of the state assembly rather it only talks about the reorganisation of the territory.
Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy raised questions on the revocation of the Article 370 and 35A which led to the formation of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Roy asked the government about the outcomes after the Articles were repealed. The Trinamool Congress MP from West Bengal’s Dum Dum also complained that the situation of people in Jammu and Kashmir has not improved since.
Shah during discussion on the J&K Bills in Lok Sabha said: “How can a country have two Prime Ministers, two Constitutions and two flags? Those who did this, they did wrong. Prime Minister Narendra Modi corrected it. We have been saying that there should be ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ (One Prime Minister, one flag and one Constitution) in the country, and we did it.”
He was speaking on remarks made by Roy on the J&K Bills.
NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction MP Supriya Sule, amid the Maratha quota agitation in Maharashtra, asked for a discussion on pan-India reservation.
She was speaking amid the deliberations on the two J&K amendment bills, one of which talks about reservation for the people of the union territory.
She also remembered late BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj for their contributions to Indian politics.
“Today, I miss Arun Jaitely and Sushma Swaraj… they were the only BJP leaders who advocated for the cooperative federalism,” Sule said.
Oppn Seeks Time-Frame For J-K Polls; RS Discusses Economic Situation
Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up discussion on two bills on Jammu and Kashmir while the Rajya Sabha discussed the economic situation in the country with the BJP members praising the government for its handling of the economy in a difficult global situation and the opposition members pointing to price rise and “high unemployment” in the country.
Home Minister Amit Shah moved the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha. The House took up debate on the two bills together.
Several members took part in the debate and the Home Minister is expected to give reply on Wednesday.
Participating in the debate, opposition members accused the government of delaying elections in Jammu and Kashmir. They said the government is talking of improved law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir but assembly elections have not been held.
During the debate, which was initiated by Congress member Amar Singh, several members also said that the government should restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said the government should announce a time-frame for holding polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Roy targeted the government and said it was first time that a state had been turned into Union Territory.
“Let me start with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since Amit Shah took over as Home Minister. One of the major steps taken by him was to abrogate Article 370 and then convert the states of Jammu and Kashmir to Union Territories. First Jammu and Kashmir and second, Ladakh. Earlier, Union Territories were converted into States and here, Amit Shah converted the states into Union Territories. What have you achieved?” he asked.
“If there is no Legislative Assembly, then why are you making the changes? Have a Legislative Assembly and then make it. I don’t know what the hurry is; the hurry should be to hold the elections in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
“They abrogated Article 370 just to fulfil the BJP promise: ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ (One Prime Minister, one flag and one Constitution). This was the slogan at the time of Syama Prasad (Mookerjee), this is not for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as this was a political statement and was his slogan,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah countered Sugata Roy over some of his remarks and asked how can a country have two PMs, two constitutions and two flags.
“How can a country have two PMs, two constitutions and two flags? Those who did this, they did wrong. PM Modi corrected it. We have been saying since 1950 that there should be ‘Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan’ (One Prime Minister, one flag and one Constitution) in the country, and we did it.” Shah said.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur said Kashmir saw stone-pelting incidents earlier but there were no such incidents now.
Thakur alleged that the TMC government in West Bengal is not allowing the “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra”, which showcases the people-centric policies of the Narendra Modi government in the state.
Participating in the debate, J-K National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said the bill should not have been brought at this stage as the Supreme Court was yet to announce its verdict on the petitions challenging the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act.
He said the decisions on matters, being sought to be amended by the bills, were taken by the assembly and any changes should be made there. (ANI)
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