New Delhi, 6 December: The Lok Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill-2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill-2023 by voice vote on Thursday. Yesterday, the discussion for consideration of the bill started, and it continues even today.
Responding to the discussion, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the bill has been brought to provide reservations under Other Backward Classes to the displaced people who have been deprived of their rights for years and have been fighting for respect.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while replying to the discussion on two MLAs related to Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said that due to Article 370 of the Constitution, 45 thousand people have lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir. This article was abolished by the Narendra Modi government in 2019.
The Home Minister said that the objective of the current bills is positive, and he requests that everyone pass them unanimously.
He said that 46 thousand 631 families were displaced from the state during the period of terrorism. Apart from this, 41 thousand 844 families were displaced during the war with Pakistan. The purpose of the bill is to give these people their rights with dignity.
During this, the Home Minister gave detailed details of the changes that came after the removal of Article 370 in 2019.
He said that this article was at the root of separatism, and by removing it, the feeling of separatism would gradually end.
He said that due to this, there has been a 70 percent reduction in terrorist incidents in the valley, a 72 percent reduction in civilian deaths, and a 59 percent reduction in armed forces deaths. Apart from this, stone-pelting and organised strikes have also become negligible now.
The Home Minister said that after the judicial delimitation in the state, nine seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. Now there will be 43 assembly seats in Jammu instead of 37 and 47 assembly seats in Kashmir instead of 46. 24 seats have been reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The total seats have been increased from 107 to 114. Two seats will be designated for the displaced people and two for the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In his speech, the Home Minister described two decisions of former Prime Minister Nehru as historical mistakes and used the English word blunder for them. The opposition expressed its objection to this wording, and some members walked out of the House.
The Home Minister said that Prime Minister Nehru himself has accepted this as his mistake.
The Home Minister said that India’s announcement of a ceasefire during the 1947 war was premature. If this had not been done, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been in India by now. Also, Nehru ji should not have taken this issue to the United Nations. Even if it should have been done, it should have been done under Charter 51 instead of 35.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. The Act provides reservation in admission to jobs and professional institutions to members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other socially and educationally backward classes.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The 2019 Act amended the Second Schedule of the 1950 Act to specify the total number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly as 83.
In this, six seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes. No seats were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. In the current bill, the total number of seats has been increased to 90. It also reserves seven seats for scheduled castes and nine seats for scheduled tribes.
The bill states that the Lieutenant Governor can nominate a maximum of two members from the Kashmiri migrant community to the Legislative Assembly. One of the nominated members must be a woman.
The bill states that the Lieutenant Governor can nominate one member to the Legislative Assembly representing the displaced persons of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
