Statehood will be accorded at appropriate time, HM assures LS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday informed the Lok Sabha that Statehood will be given “at an appropriate time” to Jammu & Kashmir even as he reiterated that the Centre’s commitment is to bring peace and development “first” in the Union Territory.
Replying to the debate on J&K Re-organisation (Amendment) Bill, which includes the AGMUT cadre in the Jammu & Kashmir, Shah told the Lok Sabha that the Modi Government’s top priority is nothing but the development of the region.
“You people are asking me what happened after scrapping Article 370 in 17 months while forgetting how three families ruled the State for 70 years!” said the Home Minister reiterating that the Statehood will be given in “appropriate time”.
“You people don’t read the Bill properly. This is just about AGMUT Cadre inclusion in J&K and Ladakh. This Bill has nothing to do with Statehood. You people during debate just talk on Article 370. It is gone. It was only a temporary clause which you people kept for 70 years and now asking me when the Statehood will be given back. I am telling you the Statehood will be given on an appropriate time. The Narendra Modi Government is committed to bringing peace and development in the region first,” said Shah.
Slamming the Opposition for objecting to the posting of Hindu officer in Muslim-populated region, Shah said, “I am amazed that you people are now talking about secularism but what kind of secularism is this?”
He was replying to the objections against the Bill raised by Opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chaowdhury, Assaduddin Owaisi, Manish Tewari and NK Premachandran. The Rajya Sabha has already passed the Bill.
Taking a dig at Shah at one point, Chowdhury said, “You claim all development in Jammu & Kashmir has been done by Narendra Modi. Please also claim Dal Lake was also created by Modi,” said Chowdhury.
The Home Minister also slammed some Opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region getting back its erstwhile Statehood. This legislation has nothing to do with Statehood, and Jammu & Kashmir will be accorded the status at an appropriate time, Shah reiterated.
He said the region’s Union Territory status is temporary and then took a swipe at the Congress and other parties —which had backed Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir — saying this was a temporary provision but they continued with it for over 70 years before the Modi Government annulled it in August 2019.
Jammu & Kashmir has been a top priority for the current Government since it came to power in 2014, he said. Decentralisation and devolution of power have taken place in the Union Territory following the revocation of Article 370, Shah said, noting that panchayat elections saw over 51 per cent voting. Panchayats have been given administrative and financial powers for local development, something they lacked earlier, he added.
Now people chosen by the masses will rule J&K, not those born to “kings and queens”, he said, attacking dynastic parties in the region. Even our rivals could not allege any wrongdoing in these polls which were conducted fairly and peacefully, he said.
Work on two AIIMS in the region has begun, and the Kashmir valley will be connected to the railways by 2022, the Union Home Minister said. He also gave assurance to the people of Jammu & Kashmir that “no one will lose their land”. The Government has sufficient land for development works, Shah said.
The Bill seeks to replace the Ordinance to merge the J&K cadre of civil services officer with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. Shah said the Government expects that around 25,000 Government jobs will be created in J&K by 2022.
Sunday, 14 February 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
