The Lok Sabha witnessed some heated moments during a debate on the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state with Home Minister Amit Shah saying, “We will die for Kashmir’.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sought a clarification from the Home minister asking, “S Jaishankar told Mike Pompeo a few days back that Kashmir is a bilateral matter, so don’t interfere in it. Can J&K still be an internal matter? We want to know. Entire Congress party wants to be enlightened by you.”
The Home Minister, who introduced the resolution for scrapping the Article that grants special status to the state and a bill to bifurcate the state, responded: “J&K is an inseparable part of India, this is in India’ s and Jammu and Kashmir’s Constitution. So, Parliament is fully entitled to legislate on the state.”
To this, the opposition benches asked: “ So what about Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), what is your stand on that?” A visibly agitated Amit Shah said, “When I say J&K, I mean whole of PoK and Aksai Chin region… don’t you consider PoK as India’s part?” On this Chowdhury asked, “ Why are you getting aggressive?” The Home Minister retorted: “ I will get aggressive, we will die for Kashmir.”
The Lok Sabha is debating the resolution and the bill a day after the Rajya Sabha passed both on the day they were introduced by the Home Minister.
On Monday, home minister Amit Shah moved a resolution in the Rajya Sabha to abolish Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and a bill bifurcate the state into two union territories- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The resolution was passed by voice vote and the bill by 125 to 61 votes in the 239-member house, a two-thirds majority.
People in Kashmir were worried after the Centre’s move with political leaders such as Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah under arrest and the valley remaining Valley mostly incommunicado with no mobile or internet connectivity.
During the debate in Rajya Sabha, Amit Shah ensured the people that “nothing will happen”. He said full statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an “appropriate time” after the return of normalcy. “It was heaven on earth and will remain so,” Shah said.
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