Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the two bills on Jammu and Kashmir– Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, that had been moved for approval in the Lok Sabha, pertain to providing rights to those who faced injustice and were insulted and ignored. Amit Shah further said that Jammu and Kashmir had suffered two blunders, owing to first Prime Ministert of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Had Jawaharlal Nehru taken right steps, Pakistan occupied Kashmir would have been part of India now; it was historic blunder,” Amit Shah added in Lok Sabha.
“Jammu and Kashmir has suffered due to two blunders. 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 “, Amit Shah said adding that the Indian Government ‘plans to have zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir in force for 3 years’.
“Will be successful by 2026″, Amit Shah said.
Replying to the debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Home Minister said that bills seek to give justice to those who were forced to become refugees in their own country.
“I am glad that throughout the whole discussion and debate over the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2023, no member opposed the ‘tattva’ (substance) of the Bill.”
He said there is a huge difference between giving rights and giving rights respectfully
“Earlier there were 37 seats in Jammu, now there are 43. Earlier there were 46 in Kashmir, now there are 47 and in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, 24 seats have been reserved since PoK is ours”, said Amit Shah in Parliament.
“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. But they have to be brought forward in a way that doesn’t reduce their respect. 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.
Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the pain of the poor.
“A few people also tried to underestimate it…someone said that only the name is being changed. I would like to tell all of them that if we have even a little sympathy then we need to see that respect is attached to the name. This can be seen by only those who want to bring them forward considering them like their brothers. Those who use it as vote bank for their own political benefit…Narendra Modi is a leader who was born into a poor family and became the Prime Minister of the country today. He knows the pain of the poor,” he said.
One of the bills seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. It was enacted to provide for reservation in appointment and admission in professional institutions for the members of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes.
The bill seeks to amend section 2 of the Reservation Act to change the nomenclature of “weak and under privileged classes (social castes)” to “other backward classes” and make consequential amendments.
The other bill seeks to provide representation to “Kashmiri Migrants”, “Displaced Persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir” and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir “to preserve their political rights as well as for their overall social and economic development”.
It seeks to insert new sections 15A and 15B in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 to nominate not more than two members, one of whom shall be a woman, from the community of “Kashmiri Migrants” and one Member from “Displaced Persons from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir”, to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
The House began on the two bills on Tuesday. Twenty-nine members participated in the debate on the bills.
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Published: 06 Dec 2023, 04:25 PM IST