A day after the Rajya Sabha approved a resolution stripping Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir and a bill to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories, the Lok Sabha began the discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill on Tuesday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved the resolution to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, in Lok Sabha and to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories.
Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury rose to speak in the Lok Sabha and sought to know from Amit Shah that how can he change the status of Jammu and Kashmir without taking other stakeholders into consideration. He said that the government brought in these rules in an illegal manner.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhry further demanded an explanation from the government on whether Kashmir is a bilateral issue or not. “You say that it is an internal matter. But it is being monitored since 1948 by the UN, is that an internal matter? We signed the Shimla Agreement & Lahore Declaration, what that an internal matter or bilateral?” said Chowdhry.
“I don’t think you are thinking about PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir), you violated all rules and converted a state into a Union Territory overnight,” Adhir Chowdhury said.
As Adhir Ranjan Chowdhry questioned the legality of the union government to make laws on the region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for questioning the Parliament’s power to amend the status of the Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “You should clarify on the floor of the House whether it is your party’s stated position that the UN has the right to intervene in the matter of Jammu and Kashmir. Why do you question the Parliament’s authority to decide on its own territory’s fate.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Lok Sabha: Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of Union of India. Kashmir ki seema mein PoK bhi aata hai…Jaan de denge iske liye! https://t.co/7zyF4I0eQn
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2019
An infuriated Amit Shah said that PoK is an integral part of India and should never be considered separate from Jammu and Kashmir. He asserted that we will lay down our lives for it.
“When I speak of Jammu and Kashmir, I also include Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin as a part of the territory,” added Home Minister Amit Shah in his reply.
