Parliament passes bill to bifurcate J-K into two UTs
New Delhi, August 06:
Parliament has adopted the resolution revoking the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, with Lok Sabha approving it Tuesday.
The Lower House adopted the resolution with 351 members supporting it while 72 voted against it. The Rajya Sabha had adopted a similar resolution yesterday.
Article 370 gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Lok Sabha also passed The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 through voting. 367 members voted in favour of the Bill while 70 members opposed it.
Replying to the debate, Home Minister Amit Shah said that scrapping of Article 370 is essential as it is a hurdle in connecting Kashmir to India’s mainstream. He reiterated that Pakistan occupied Kashmir will always belong to India.
He said this very Article is the root cause of terrorism in the Valley. The Minister also hailed the Article responsible for the lack of development and corruption in the state. He also termed the Article as anti-women, anti-Dalit, and anti-OBC.
Mr Shah also said this Article has only benefitted three families and people who are opposing its removal just want to protect their own interests and not the people of the Valley.
Listing out the drawbacks of the Article, the Minister said nine Constitutional Amendments and 106 laws which are applicable in other parts of the country are not effective in the state which has adversely affected it. He said these include Right to Education, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act as well as political reservation. The Home Minister said with the help of this Article, democracy was muzzled.
Responding to Asaduddin Owaisi’s remarks that scrapping Article 370 would be a historical mistake, Mr Shah rejected the apprehension saying NDA government is correcting a historical mistake by this move. He said that after seeing development in Jammu and Kashmir under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the people of the Valley will understand drawbacks of Article 370.
On NCP MP Supriya Sule’s question about what would happen to Jammu and Kashmir’s environment, Mr Shah said India has laws for environment protection and they will be implemented there as soon as Article 370 is revoked. He assured that Jammu and Kashmir will remain ‘heaven on earth’.
Mr Shah wondered how scrapping the Article can be a communal agenda as there are Hindus, Sikhs and Jains living in the state. He stated that a minority commission has not been formed there till date due to Article 370.
The Home Minister further said that history will decide if the decision to revoke the Article is right or not, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be remembered by people whenever it will be discussed.
He stressed that both Houses of Parliament have a complete constitutional right to make any decision within the boundaries of India. Hitting out at Opposition, he said parties are against the move as they want to secure their vote banks.
The Minister said that from 1989 to 1995, terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was at such a high that curfew was imposed for years and years. He said people suffered from a scarcity of food during the period.
On the Opposition members criticising the government over the curfew in Jammu and Kashmir, he informed that curfew was not put in place because the law and order situation has deteriorated, but as a precaution. He said it has been put in place so that the situation does not deteriorate.
Mr Shah said that as soon as the situation normalises, at an appropriate time, Jammu and Kashmir will regain state status. He said Centre does not want to hold discussions with Hurriyat Conference but is ready to listen to the people living in the Valley.
The Minister assured that the Narendra Modi government has no intention of removing Article 371, which gives special status to Northeastern states to preserve their tribal culture. He added that Naga Accord and Article 370 have no relation at all.
After the passage of the resolution and the Bill, the government withdrew the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill. Home Minister said since Article 370 has been scrapped, the provisions of the Bill will automatically apply in the state.
Earlier intervening in the debate, BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad said it cannot be denied that abuse of Article 370 has become a vested interest. He asked why the people from the Opposition who are talking about Article 370 remained silent when human rights were being violated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
BJP MP from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said the move is a rectification of past blunders. He stated that this is for the first time that a government is listening to Ladakh people’s sentiments. He said UPA gave Kashmir a central University in 2011 but Ladakh people’s demand for a central university went unheard. He expressed happiness that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently gave Ladakh a university.
He pointed out that in the past seven decades, no one valued Ladakh or tried to learn about the geographical or climatic conditions and the problems faced by people of the region. He cited Congress party and Article 370 as responsible for the poor state of development in the region. He said people in Ladakh have always wanted the region to become a Union Territory.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal also supported the Bill scrapping Article 370. He said minorities in Jammu and Kashmir were unhappy and there was no Minority Commission in the state.
TDP MP Jayadev Galla spoke in favour of the Bill and said his party supports the proposed reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir. He said this move will lead to complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India.
BJD lended support unequivocal support to the government. Party leader Pinaki Mishra said Article 370 was always intended to be transient and these were legacy issues which needed to be ironed out. He asked people of Jammu and Kashmir to place trust the Centre.
Intervening in the debate, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said it is unfortunate that Congress party is opposing the Bill when the entire country is rejoicing. He accused Congress of speaking in Pakistan’s voice by terming it a dark day for democracy. He said Article 370 was ed in the Constitution despite Dr BR Ambedkar’s opposition and Narendra Modi government wants to correct this historical blunder.
Supporting the government decision, Nama Nageshwar Rao of TRS lauded it.
On the other hand, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioned the government’s move on the issue.
Another Congress leader Manish Tewari termed the way in which the central government steamrolled the decision and sprang a surprise on the people of Kashmir. Hitting out the government, Mr Tewari said it is a Constitutional Tragedy.
T R Balu of DMK also raised fingers on the Centre. Questioning the government move, TMC leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said no atrocities should take place in Jammu and Kashmir. TMC later staged a walkout.
NCP’s Supriya Sule asked why there were no debates and consultations ahead of government’s move. She said there is an atmosphere of fear in the Valley at present with schools, colleges, and offices shut down. She wanted to know when free and fair elections will be held in the state. She also accused Jammu and Kashmir governor of misleading the people as he kept telling that the government is not going to scrap Article 370.
Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party also hit out at the government over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. He wanted to know whether people of Kashmir were happy with the move. He said the Home Minister should also tell the nation about the status of Pak occupied Kashmir.
Hasnain Masoodi of National Conference also opposed the government’s decision saying that the trust of Jammu and Kashmir has been broken. He termed the government move as unconstitutional.
PK Kunhalikutty of IUML accused the government of implementing communal agenda. He said today’s government decision will have repercussions in the future. He also termed the decision as illegal.
NDA ally JD(U) opposed the government move. Participating in the debate, party MP Rajeev Ranjan Singh said the government should have focused on fighting against terrorism instead of touching the controversial Article related to Jammu and Kashmir.
He said his party has a clear view which was mentioned in NDA agenda of governance that such controversial issues will be dealt with through consensus. He said JD(U) is against the government decision. Later, protesting against it, JD(U) members staged a walkout.