J&K bills to provide justice to those deprived for 70 years: Amit Shah in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday pointed out "two big mistakes" committed by late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru due to which Jammu & Kashmir "had to suffer" for many years.

Shah was responding to discussion on J&K Reservation Amendment Bill and J&K Reorganisation Amendment Bill in the lower house. The bills were later passed by the Lok Sabha.

"Two mistakes happened due to the decision of (former PM) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru after which Kashmir had to suffer for many years. The first was to declare a ceasefire when our Army was winning. If there had been a ceasefire after three days, PoK would have been a part of India today... The second was to take our internal issue to the UN," Shah said.

Calling this a "historic blunder", Shah said that had Nehru taken the right steps, PoK would have been part of India today.

Speaking in the lower house, Shah also blamed the past governments in the erstwhile state for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the region.

He said that the two new bills related to Jammu and Kashmir which are being introduced in the ongoing winter session of Lok Sabha will give justice to those deprived of their rights for the last 70 years.

The home minister said that the Bills seek to give representation in assembly to those who had to leave Kashmir due to terrorism.

He added that they will also "bring justice to those against whom injustice was done, who were insulted and those who were ignored."

Shah also trained his guns on the Congress, accusing the grand old party of hindering the progress of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the country. Drawing a contrast, the home minister said that PM Narendra Modi was born into a poor family and became the prime minister and he knows the pain of the backward classes and the poor.

The home minister said that the Modi government will return to power in 2024 and hoped that by 2026, there will be no terror incident in J&K.

Here are the key points about the two bills ...

• The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Bill provides for reservation in appointment in state government posts, and admission to professional institutions, for certain reserved categories.
• The Bill also provides for reservation in professional institutions for economically weaker sections.
• 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 Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 provides for the reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
• The Bill increases the strength of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly from 107 to 114 in a bid to provide representation to Kashmiri migrants, displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Scheduled Tribes.
• It will reserve seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine seats for Scheduled Tribes.
• Shah said that the new bill proposes to raise the reserved seats in Jammu region from 37 to 43.
• Meanwhile, in Kashmir, the reserved seats have been increased to 47 from 46.
• Shah said the bill will also reserve 24 seats for the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir region, since "it is ours".
• Moreover, one seat in the J&K assembly will be reserved for those displaced from PoK.
• Shah said that one of two bills on Jammu and Kashmir seeks to nominate two Kashmiri Migrant community members, including a woman, to the assembly.

(With inputs from agencies)
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