Lok Sabha Discusses Jammu and Kashmir Bills for Reservation and Reorganisation

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha yesterday took up the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration and passing.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.  The Act provides reservation in jobs and admission in professional institutions to members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other socially and educationally backward classes.

On the other hand, 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 to be 83. The proposed Bill increases the total number of seats to 90. It also reserves seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine seats for Scheduled Tribes. 

The Bill adds that the Lieutenant Governor may nominate up to two members from the Kashmiri migrant community to the Legislative Assembly. One of the nominated members must be a woman. Migrants are defined as persons who migrated from the Kashmir Valley or any other part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after 1st November 1989 and are registered with the Relief Commissioner.

Initiating the discussion on the bills, Congress MP Dr. Amar Singh said that government should make it clear that they are serious about giving the right to the OBCs of the region. He said that although he supports the bill but he wants that it should be more comprehensive and all issues related to the Jammu and Kashmir should be resolved. He also demanded that Punjabi speaking people should be nominated in the assembly.

Speaking on the bill, Jugal Kishor Sharma of BJP said that the provisions of the bill were in need from long time but no previous government paid attention to them. 

Responding to TMC leader Saugata Roy’s comments on J&K, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the concept of one flag, one prime minister, one constitution was not a political slogan and that the BJP firmly believes in the principle and



finally implemented it with regard to Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Shah wondered as to how a country can have two prime ministers, two constitutions and two flags. He said Roy's remarks were objectionable. He said, whosoever did it was wrong and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has corrected it. The Home Minister said, the entire country wanted it.

Intervening in the discussion, Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur spoke on the successful District Development Council elections in 2020 in the Union Territory. He said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met the elected representatives and spoke about ensuring development of Jamu and Kashmir. Mr Thakur said, the Modi Government is correcting the weakness heralded during former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the helm.

BJP MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal spoke about the lack of representation for Scheduled Tribes in the erstwhile state.

Intervening in the discussion, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said, those people who have misused the law in Jammu and Kashmir for 60 to 70 years are now raising questions about it. He said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had said that Article 370 would gradually erode and Congress party should thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for completing Nehru's incomplete work. 

Taking on Congress, Mr Singh said, the people who protected Article 370 for the longest period are also the one who misused it the most. He hit out at the Congress for not letting the Indian constitution and laws be implemented fully in Jammu and Kashmir due to its selfish political interests when the party was in power at the Centre. The Minister said, the Congress due to its compulsion for family politics and selfish interests did not remove Article 370. He said, the demand for creating a Union Territory in Ladakh was first raised in 1948, but this demand was fulfilled after Mr Modi became the Prime Minister.

Hasnain Masoodi of National Conference, Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM, N K Premachandran of RSP, A M Ariff of CPI(M), Supriya Sule of NCP, Malook Nagar of BSP, Dr B V Satyavathi of YSRCP participated in the debate. The discussion will continue tomorrow.