Jammu and Kashmir are the centred units of the country in the winter session of the Parliament. Two important pieces of legislation regarding the northern states were passed by both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
These are The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, that aims to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and The Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at amending the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.
The two legislations are being viewed as an attempt by the Union government to tweak the political landscape to its advantage ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, by wooing the Kashmiri Pandits and Pahadia community of the region.
In his reply to the discussion on the Bill in the Lok Sabha, home minister Amit Shah said, “Earlier there were 37 seats in Jammu which have now become 43, earlier there were 46 seats in Kashmir which have now become 47, and 24 seats have been kept reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir because POK is ours,” Shah said, reiterating a position India has held historically.
The legislative assembly initially had 100 members including 24 for PoK, up to 1988 when the seats were increased to 111. The 24 seats are however not taken into consideration during the quorum calculation, which is why the total contestable seats were 87 including four for Ladakh. After delimitation in 2020, the total number of seats rose to 114, which included the seats for PoK. But it is the number of nominated seats that has raised eyebrows.
It is believed that these members will mainly be Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, tilting the balance away from a Muslim-majority Valley.
“Earlier there were 107 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, now there are 114 seats, earlier there were two nominated members in the assembly, now there will be five,” Shah said. The state governor has the power to nominate these members of which two will be women, one a Kashmiri migrant and one from PoK, Shah said.
“The government is subverting the mandate of the people by controlling the levers from Delhi,” Asaduddin Owaisi, Lok Sabha MP from the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen said. “Why reserve seats for Pandits – name them,” he added. He also said the definition of “displaced persons” does not include Muslims who “in 1989, when the Army went into their areas in Keran, Karna, Poonch, Rajouri, several villagers were forced to migrate to PoK. Of these 3% are Muslims, the rest are Pahadias and Gujjars and yet there is no mention of them in the Bill.”
This time around, in his reply to the House, Shah was careful not to mention Aksai Chin in the same breath as PoK. On August 5, 2019 though, while reading down Article 370, Shah had thundered that Aksai Chin is Indian territory.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that every single time we say Jammu and Kashmir, it includes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (including Gilgit-Baltistan) as well as Aksai Chin. Let there be no doubt over it. Entire Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the Union of India.”
More about Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill
Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 modifies the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, which governs reservations in jobs and admissions to professional institutions for members of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and socially and educationally backward classes.
Key features include the replacement of the phrase “weak and under-privileged classes” with “other backward classes” as declared by the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. The bill ousts the original definition of weak and under-privileged classes.
What is Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill?
On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which facilitated the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
This bill proposes to increase the total number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly from 107 to 114, of which seven would be reserved for scheduled caste members and nine seats for legislators from scheduled tribes.
As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 24 seats of the Assembly will remain vacant until the occupation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir ceases. Therefore, the effective strength of the Assembly is 83, which the amendment seeks to increase as 90.
Other features include the power of the lieutenant governor to nominate up to two members from the Kashmiri migrant community to the legislative assembly, with one nominee being a woman. Additionally, one member representing displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir may be nominated.
“Kashmiri Migrants” are defined as persons who migrated from the Kashmir Valley or any other part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after November 1 of 1989 and are registered with Relief Commissioner.
Conclusion
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.
During the discussion yesterday, several members of the opposition opposed the passing of the bill when the Supreme Court’s judgment on the validity of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 and the abrogation of Article 370 is awaited. The opposition also questioned why elections have not been held in Jammu and Kashmir for four years since the abrogation of the special status of the region.
