Amit Shah, Home Minister of India recently spoke about the statehood concerns for Jammu and Kashmir. He made statements during the J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Amit Shah Clarifies Intentions For Article 370 Withdrawal
Amit Shah during the session clarified that Jammu & Kashmir will be given statehood when the time is right. He said that in response to the withdrawal of Article 370 from the constitution in 2019.
He said that many MPs have said that the 2019 amendments means that Jammu and Kashmir would never be a state. But he is the one who brought the bill and clarified his intentions as well. Shah further questioned the conclusion which says that the J&K won’t get statehood. He said that Jammu and Kashmir will get statehood at “appropriate time”.
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On Monday, this week, former Rajya Sabha member Ghulam Nabi Azad who is set to retire on February 15, 2021 spoke about the statehood in Jammu & Kashmir. He said that Shah had promised statehood but the bill now draws suspicion that the government wants J&K to remain a union territory.
Following the argument, Shah also criticized the opposition for J & K special status. He said that their government has constantly been asked about the accounts for the promises made during the withdrawal of Article 370. But they didn’t bring account for the 70 years of their ruling. He further said if the Congress had worked properly, no accounts would have been needed in the first place.
Shah said that they will give an account for everything. But the people (Congress) who were in rule for generations should also look into the fact if they are even fit to ask for an account in the first place. He further said that the local body polls were conducted in which 51 per cent voters turned out. This was a sign that statehood would be restored in Jammu and Kashmir soon.
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What is the J&K Reorganization (Amendment) Bill?
The J & K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill is meant to merge the Jammu and Kashmir cadre of all-India services officers with the ones at Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.
This comes after the Modi government’s move to revoke Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir. With this, J & K split into two Union Territories. However, the move was followed by high security alerts in the area and the suspension of mobile internet and broadband services. The internet services were recently restored in the area after being banned for over 18 months. Thousands of troops have been deployed in the area.
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The internet services were restored after the Supreme Court said that such “curbs” could be seen as an assault against free speech and democratic rights of the citizens.
The security alerts in the area along with thousands of troops also included the detention of political leaders like Ex-Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah. They were charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and were released a year later of the detention.
