‘PoK Hamara Hai’, asserts Amit Shah in Parliament

NEW DELHI: Twenty four seats have been reserved in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir as “PoK is ours”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Parliament on Wednesday.

Tabling the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha, Shah said that earlier, Jammu had 37 seats, but now it has 43, while Kashmir had 46 seats, now it has 47 seats. He said that the Delimitation Commission, set up by the Centre for the delimitation of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, has reserved 24 seats for PoK.

#WATCH | Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "Two mistakes that happened due to the decision of (former PM) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru due to which Kashmir had to suffer for many years. The first is to declare a ceasefire – when our army was winning, the ceasefire was imposed. If… pic.twitter.com/3TMm8fk5O1

— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2023

Shah said, “The Delimitation (Commission) went everywhere in J&K. The representatives of several communities, including Kashmiri migrants and people displaced in PoK, had submitted applications to them regarding their representation in state assembly. I am happy that the commission has taken cognizance of this and the (then) Election Commissioner of India has nominated two seats in state assembly for Kashmiri migrants and one seat for a person displaced in PoK, which has been occupied unauthorizedly by Pakistan”.

“Earlier, there were 37 seats in Jammu (division), now there are 43. Earlier there were 46 in Kashmir, now there are 47. And 24 seats for PoK have been reserved, Kyuki Woh Hamara Hai (because PoK is ours),” he added. The Union minister said that now there will be five nominated members in J-K Assembly.

Shah was speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023. “Earlier two women were nominated by the Governor in state assembly. And now, two of the Kashmiri migrants, out of whom one of must be a woman, and one person from PoK, will be nominated”, he said.

During the debate, Shah also said that these bills pertain to bringing justice to those against whom injustice was done. He said that, as per figures, around 46,631 families and 1,57,967 people were displaced in their own country. “This bill is to give them rights and representation,” he added.

Amit Shah said that the two bills on Jammu and Kashmir moved for approval in the Lok Sabha pertain to providing rights to those who faced injustice and were insulted and ignored.

Replying to the debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Home Minister said that bills seek to give justice to those who were forced to become refugees in their own country. “I am glad that throughout the whole discussion and debate over the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2023, no member opposed the ‘tattva’ (substance) of the Bill.”

He said there is a huge difference between giving rights and giving rights respectfully. “The Bill that I have brought here pertains to bringing justice to and providing rights to those against whom injustice was done, who were insulted and those who were ignored. In any society, those who are deprived should be brought forward. That is the basic sense of the Constitution of India. But they have to be brought forward in a way that doesn’t reduce their respect. There is a huge difference between giving rights and giving rights respectfully. So, instead of weak and deprived category renaming it to Other Backward Class is important”, he said.

Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the pain of the poor. “A few people also tried to underestimate it…someone said that only the name is being changed. I would like to tell all of them that if we have even a little sympathy then we need to see that respect is attached to the name. This can be seen by only those who want to bring them forward considering them like their brothers. Those who use it as vote bank for their own political benefit…Narendra Modi is a leader who was born into a poor family and became the Prime Minister of the country today. He knows the pain of the poor”, he said.

One of the bills seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. It was enacted to provide for reservation in appointment and admission in professional institutions for the members of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes.

The bill seeks to amend section 2 of the Reservation Act to change the nomenclature of “weak and under privileged classes (social castes)” to “other backward classes” and make consequential amendments.

The other bill seeks to provide representation to “Kashmiri Migrants”, “Displaced Persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir” and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir “to preserve their political rights as well as for their overall social and economic development”.

It seeks to insert new sections 15A and 15B in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 to nominate not more than two members, one of whom shall be a woman, from the community of “Kashmiri Migrants” and one Member from “Displaced Persons from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir”, to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.(ANI)