Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill has nothing to do with the statehood of J&K and that the latter will be restored at an “appropriate time”. The Bill was later passed in the Lok Sabha.
“I say it again that this Bill has got nothing to do with the statehood of Jammu & Kashmir. Statehood would be given to Jammu & Kashmir at an appropriate time,” Shah said.
Speaking in the lower house of the Parliament, today, Shah said, “Many MPs said that bringing Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 means J&K won’t get statehood. I am piloting the Bill, I brought it. I have clarified my intentions. Nowhere it’s written that J&K won’t get statehood. Where are you drawing the conclusion from?”
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha on Saturday. Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said the government was working to take Jammu and Kashmir on the path to development. Reddy said around 170 central laws are being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave a special status to the erstwhile state.
On August 5, 2019, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories J&K and Ladakh and its special status under Article 370 of Indian Constitution was abrogated triggering criticism from leaders from Opposition parties and activists across the country.
Shah said that it has only been 17 months since the abrogation of Article 370 and he is ready to account for everything. Taking a dig at Congress he asked what they did in the 70 years of their rule. “I have no objection, I will give an account for everything. But those who were given the opportunity to govern for generations should look within if they are even fit to demand an account,” Shah said.
Shah hit out at Congress’s Manish Tewari saying thousands of people were killed and a curfew was imposed during the Congress regime. “I don’t want to recall the days of unrest. Such days won’t be there again,” Shah said.
