Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday led a fierce charge against the Congress while addressing the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2023 on the third day of the Winter Session of Parliament. Speaking in the House today, Shah pointed out two “blunders” by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his tenure, stating they led to suffering in Kashmir for years.
Shah attributed the issue of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) to Nehru, stating that it was because of his (Nehru’s) mistake that Kashmir suffered for years. “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,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
Explaining the impact of Nehru’s decisions, Shah said, “Jammu and Kashmir suffered due to two blunders. Firstly, 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 added that the Indian government plans to have ‘zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir in force for 3 years’.
Opposition members, however, objected to Shah’s remarks on Nehru and several MPs staged a walkout. “Nehru ji said it was his mistake. It was not a mistake. It was a blunder to lose so much land of this country,” Shah said.
Key Bills passed in Lok Sabha
Shah’s remarks came during a debate for the consideration and passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, While the former governs reservations in jobs and admissions to professional institutions for members of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and socially and educationally backward classes, the second deals with the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
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The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, deals proposes to modify the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. It proposes to replace the phrase “weak and under-privileged classes” with “Other Backward Classes” in line with the central definition.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, on the other hand, amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and proposes to increase the total number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly from 83 to 90. Seven of these seats would be reserved for members of the Scheduled Caste and nine seats for the members of the Scheduled Tribes.
The Bill also empowers the L-G to nominate two members from the Kashmiri migrant community to the Assembly with one being a woman. An additional provision has been made to nominate displaced persons from PoK. Both Bills have been passed in the Lok Sabha.