J&K Reorganisation, Reservation (Amendment) Bills passed by Lok Sabha

Shortly after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s spirited reply on two ‘Naya Kashmir’ Bills,  the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill after more than six hours of debate spanning over two days. While the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill seeks to nominate two members from the Kashmiri migrant community and one representing the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to the legislative assembly, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill seeks to change the nomenclature of a section of people who are eligible for quota in appointment and admission. The Home Minister said the two bills related to Jammu and Kashmir brought by the government will give justice to those deprived of their rights for the last 70 years and asserted that reservation to the displaced people will give them a voice in the legislature. “The Bill that I have brought here pertains to bringing justice to and providing rights to those against whom injustice was done, who were insulted and those who were ignored. In any society, those who are deprived should be brought forward. That is the basic sense of the Constitution of India,” said Shah. He said that those who are deprived have to be brought forward but in a dignified way. “There is a huge difference between giving rights and giving rights respectfully. So, instead of weak and deprived category renaming it to Other Backward Class is important,” he said. He said that Jammu and Kashmir has suffered due to two blunders committed by the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. “Two mistakes that happened due to the decision of (former PM) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru due to which Kashmir had to suffer for many years. The first is to declare a ceasefire - when our army was winning, the ceasefire was imposed. If there had been a ceasefire after three days, PoK would have been a part of India today… The second is to take our internal issue to the UN,” said the Home Minister.

#WATCH | Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "Two mistakes that happened due to the decision of (former PM) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru due to which Kashmir had to suffer for many years. The first is to declare a ceasefire - when our army was winning, the ceasefire was imposed. If… pic.twitter.com/3TMm8fk5O1

— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2023

“Had Jawaharlal Nehru taken right steps, PoK would have been part of India now. It was a historic blunder,” he said. The home minister said a plan to have zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir has been in force for the last three years and it will be successful by 2026 when there will be no violence. With inputs from agencies