The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill which seeks to divide the state into two Union Territories. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill which seeks to divide the state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The resolution to revoke the special status granted to Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370 was also passed by the Lower House of the Parliament.
Both the Bill and the resolution had been cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Monday. With the passing of the Reorganisation Bill, the state of Jammu and Kashmir stands divided into two UTs — Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature similar to Delhi or Puducherry, and Ladakh without one like Chandigarh.
Tabling the J&K Bill in Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah said Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin are part of Jammu and Kashmir and that Kashmir Valley is an integral part of the country. He added that there has been a long-standing demand for giving the status of a Union Territory to Ladakh, which was fulfilled by the Narendra Modi government.
However, the bill evoked sharp criticism from the Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor raised questions on the way the government planned the passage of the Bill and the resolution to revoke the special status and termed it ‘undemocratic and unconstitutional’. He also said, “The false pretence of terrorism to get people out of Amarnath Yatra, the use of utter secrecy, the deployment of overwhelming force and the arrests have revealed a certain disdain, a certain contempt for liberty of people, for the rule of law, and the very conventions of democracy that have sustained us for 70 years.”
He added that by passing the bill, the government has “changed the constitutional relationship of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to the Republic of India without consulting them or their elected representatives”. He termed it a “breathtaking betrayal of democracy” and nothing short of “legislative authoritarianism”. Follow Jammu and Kashmir News Live Updates
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi termed the decision to scrap special status of the state a “historic mistake”. “You kept your promise made in your manifesto, but did not live up to your constitutional duties,” he said. He also observed that Kashmiris have for long been sacrificing their rights. “Are you assuming that Kashmiris instead of sacrificing lamb should sacrifice themselves this Eid? If you want that I’m sure they’ll do that, they’ve been doing that,” he observed.
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However, Amit Shah hit back saying the government was not going to commit a historic mistake but was correcting one. “After seeing the development in J&K under the leadership of PM Modi for five years, the people of the Valley will understand drawbacks of Article 370,” he said. “Only those who are anti-Dalit, anti-tribal, anti-women and anti-education, support the Article 370 provision.”
The scrapping of the special status would mean that the Centre doesn’t need to consult the state legislature before enacting laws applicable to the Valley, non-Kashmiri residents will be allowed to buy property, Kashmir will no longer have a separate Constitution, among other things.
