The Lok Sabha on Tuesday will soon vote on the government’s move to immediately scrap Article 370, a historical provision that had extended a special status to Jammu and Kashmir for nearly seven decades and carve two union territories out of the Himalayan state.
The two changes that would bring the state under the direct control of the Centre, the government insists, would help curb terrorism backed by Pakistan and fast track development.
Under Article 370, laws by Parliament do not automatically apply to Jammu and Kashmir, according to conditions under which it acceded to India, something governed by the so-called Instrument of Accession.
Home Minister Amit Shah who led the government’s move in Parliament, described Article 370 as a provision that had created a barrier between Kashmir and the rest of the country.
“This is why everyone keeps on repeating that Kashmir is an integral part of India… Why don’t we say that for Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh…. Because Article 370 created suspicions,” said Shah.
Once this law and resolution on Article 370 are passed, this hurdle would disappear, he said in his response to a day-long debate in the Lok Sabha on the two provisions.
That the proposals would be passed by the Lok Sabha was never in doubt. The BJP-led ruling coalition NDA has an overwhelming majority in the lower house. In the Rajya Sabha where it is still short of majority, the bill was passed by a two-third majority.
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