New Delhi, Dec 06: The Lok Sabha Wednesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The Opposition members walked out of the House, following the passage of the Bills, over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
During the debate, Shah had said, “Jammu and Kashmir has suffered due to two blunders committed by Prime Minister Nehru – first, by announcing ceasefire, and then taking Kashmir issue to the United Nations… Had Jawaharlal Nehru taken right steps, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been part of India now. It was a historic blunder.”
In the Lok Sabha, Amit Shah said that a total of 29 speakers expressed their views but all agreed with the objectives of the bill. He said that these bills will add another pearl to the chain of hundreds of progressive changes brought under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah said that these bills are going to provide rights and justice to those whom were treated unjustly, insulted and ignored for 70 years. Those who consider it as a means to garner votes in politics by just using them as a vote bank and giving good speeches cannot understand its name.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is such a leader who himself has become the Prime Minister of the country after being born in a poor family and he knows the pain of the backward and the poor. He said that when it comes to promoting such people, respect matters more than help.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah replied to the discussion on Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha today.
Amit Shah said that “the Bill we have tabled is a Bill to give rights to those people who were deprived for years, who were deprived of rights, who lost their country, state, house, land and their property in their own country and became destitute. “
He said that this is a Bill to honour the backward classes of people with the constitutional term Other Backward Classes. The Union Home Minister requested the House to cooperate for passing the Bill as the purpose of this Bill is very sacred.
Shah said that the era of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir started after the 1980s and the people who had lived there for generations were completely displaced from there but no one cared about them.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that when terrorism started in the valley and people were targeted and driven away from there, from that time till now we have seen people shedding crocodile tears, but it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who wiped off their tears with full empathy.
“We cannot imagine the pain of those people who abandoned their properties in Kashmir to save their lives and went to cities like Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Jammu or Delhi and lived in camps. When those people migrated from Kashmir, their property was confiscated and they were forced to sell their land at throwaway prices, in a way their property was snatched away and the administration remained silent and did not take any step.”
Shah said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a new law to provide justice in this matter and by implementing it with retrospective effect, the people were given back their property.
He said that the government led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the work of giving domicile certificates to about 1.6 lakh people. He said that after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, a cash assistance amount of Rs 3250 per person and a maximum of Rs 13,000 per family is given.
He said that the government is providing 9 kilos of rice, 2 kilos of flour and 1 kilo of sugar per person every month. Home Minister said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the work of giving a lump sum amount of Rs 5.5 lakh to the people coming from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
To those who claimed that no work has been done in the last few years, the Union Home Minister said that how will the people who are cut off from their roots know about this change. He added that the change in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be experienced by holidaying in England.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that many members were concerned about terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and directly linked it to the abrogation of Article 370.
Shah said that he had earlier also said that at the root of terrorism is the feeling of separatism which has arisen due to Article 370 and with the removal of Article 370, there will be a huge reduction in separatism and due to this terrorism will also reduce.
He said that between 1994 and 2004, a total of 40,164 incidents of terrorism took place, between 2004 to 2014 7,217 took place where as in the 9 years of Narendra Modi government, these incidents came down to only 2,197 with a 70 percent reduction.
Shah said that 65 per cent of these incidents occurred due to police action. He said that in the 9 years of Narendra Modi government, the number of deaths of civilians has decreased by 72 percent and the number of deaths of security forces by 59 percent.
Shah said that in 2010, there were 2,654 stone pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir while in 2023 there was not a single stone pelting incident.
He said that in 2010 there were 132 organized strikes, while in 2023 there was not even a single strike. In 2010, 112 civilians died in stone pelting, whereas in 2023, not even one person died. In 2010, 6,235 security personnel were injured in stone pelting, not even a single one was injured in 2023.
The Union Home Minister said that in this very House, opposition broke all decorum and said that abrogation of Article 370 would lead to bloodshed, but the Narendra Modi government has made such arrangements that no one had the courage to throw even a single pebble. He said that in 2010 there were 70 incidents of ceasefire violations but in 2023 there were only 2 such incidents. There were 489 incidents of infiltration in 2010, only 48 incidents took place in 2023.
Shah said that the Central Government has made tireless efforts under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the security of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and improve their quality of life.
He said that the Ministry of Home Affairs reviews the security situation in Kashmir every month and every three months he himself go there and review the security situation. Home Minister said that the Modi government has made a Zero Terror Plan which is being implemented since last 3 years and by 2026 the Zero Terror Plan will be completely implemented. He said that along with this, a complete area domination plan has been made which will be completed by 2026.
Earlier only terrorists were killed, but now we have destroyed its entire ecosystem. Along with this, NIA has registered 32 cases under terror finance and these cases were registered because money was coming from Pakistan and Narendra Modi government will not let this happen. A total of 83 cases of terror funding have been registered, including 32 cases by NIA and 51 cases by SIA.
Around 229 arrests have been made and the process is underway in the court to seize and auction 57 properties worth Rs 150 crore. 134 bank accounts were sealed in which Rs 122 crore were seized and another Rs 5.5 crore in cash was seized. He said that after the abolition of Article 370, cinema halls opened for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021 after 30 years.
Shah said that a multiplex was built in Srinagar, 4 new theaters opened in Pulwama, Shopian, Baramulla and Handwara and shooting of more than 100 films started. Bank loan proposals for about 100 cinema halls are under consideration by the banks. Shah said that Article 370 was responsible for the death of 45,000 people in Jammu and Kashmir, which was abrogated by Prime Minister Modi. He said that in this country there should be only one symbol, only one constitution and only one head and for this purpose Shyama Prasad Mukherjee ji had given his life and this was the wish of the country.
Union Home Minister said that Article 370 was a temporary provision which should have been abolished long ago, but no one dared. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed courage and abolished Article 370.
Shah said that in accordance with the spirit of Constitution that Article 370 is temporary, Prime Minister Modi abolished it on August 5.
He said that for the first time Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, English and Urdu were made the official languages of the state. He said that the Right to Education Act, Land Acquisition and Compensation Act, Forest Rights Act, SC-ST Prevention Atrocities Act, Whistle Blower Protection Act, Juvenile Justice Act and Minority Commission Act, 1992 were put on hold and but now they are being implemented. And now the duration of the assembly is also 5 years.
He said that under the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, there was not a single house in the valley where the Tricolour was not hoisted, this change has taken place there. He said that today every festival is celebrated with joy and happiness at Lal Chowk and people from every community participate in it. The spirit of the Constitution has now been taken to the grassroots level there.
Amit Shah said that Jammu and Kashmir had to suffer for years due to two big mistakes made by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru during his tenure as Prime Minister.
He said that Pandit Nehru’s first mistake was that when our army was winning, ceasefire was done as soon as it reached Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was born. He said that if the ceasefire had been delayed by 3 days, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been a part of India today.
He said that the second big mistake was when they took our issue to the United Nations. Union Home Minister said that even when the matter was sent to the UN, the decision was taken very hastily. He said that this matter should not have been taken to the UN at all and even if it was taken, the matter should have been taken under Article 51 of the UN Charter instead of Article 35.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that despite advice given by several people on record, the matter was taken to the UN under Article 35. He said that former Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru had written that it was his mistake, but it was not just a mistake but a blunder. The country lost big chunk of land; it was a blunder. (PIB)
