Parliamentary proceedings | How can country have two Constitutions, asks Amit Shah

Opposition against introduction of Bills to amend J&K Reorganisation Act, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court; ask why no elections have been held in the Valley, if normalcy has returned

There can only be “one flag, one head, and one Constitution” in the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on December 5. He was speaking during a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, which were taken up in the Lok Sabha.

Members of the Opposition questioned the introduction of the Bills as the primary Act they are meant to amend — the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, which removed the special status of the former State of J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution — has been challenged in Supreme Court and a verdict is still awaited.

The Opposition MPs also asked why no elections have been held in J&K for the past decade, if normalcy has indeed returned in the Kashmir Valley, as the government has claimed. The deplorable condition of electricity supply in J&K, which is witnessing power outages for more than ten hours a day in a season of extreme cold weather, was also raised.

Also read | The case for elections in Jammu and Kashmir

‘Not just a slogan; PM has done it’

During the discussion, Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy remarked that the “one flag, one head, one constitution” slogan given by Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a political statement.

Mr. Shah interjected: “How can this be a political statement? You have grown old. How can one country have two Prime Ministers? Two Constitutions or two flags? Whoever did it was wrong. [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi ji corrected the mistake. The whole country wanted this [abrogation of Article 370]. We have been saying this since 1950, it is not merely a political slogan.”

National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said that the events of August 5, 2019 were being marketed as though J&K had been in a Stone Age until that date. “How can you bring amendments when the J&K Reorganisation Act is under judicial scrutiny? The judgement is pending in the Supreme Court,” he said. “While you promise more autonomy to the North East States, you disempower J&K. I cannot enter Manipur without Inner Line Permit, Anurag Thakur cannot buy land there,” he added, noting that no elections have been held in J&K for the past ten years.

Challenge pending in SC

Pointing out that the foundation of the August 2019 decision had been laid in December 2018 when President’s Rule was imposed in the erstwhile State, Congress MP Manish Tewari questioned the manner in which proviso 1 and 2 of Article 3 of the Constitution were invoked. He asked how amendments could be made to a law whose constitutionality has been challenged in the Supreme Court, with the verdict still pending.

Mr. Shah objected, saying that the tradition of President’s Rule was started by the Congress party, noting that unless it was imposed, the State budget could not be passed. “It is a requirement. He is a lawyer he should know better,” Mr. Shah said.

Mr. Tewari responded that Article 3 has nothing to do with the budget, as it is related to the reorganisation of States.

“If you were so confident about your decision, then why no elections in J&K in the past 5.5 years. I want to ask the Home Minister, when will elections be held in J&K? Is there a timeline? Will it be held along with the Lok Sabha elections? The Minister earlier said that J&K’s Statehood will be restored. If normalcy has returned in J&K, why not restore Statehood? The Lieutenant Governor will be able to nominate members only when an Assembly is in place, and an Assembly will be in place only when elections are held,” Mr. Tewari said.

‘Things are better, not ok’

Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the BJP MP from Ladakh, said, “I went to South Kashmir, people told me they are in no hurry for elections. Shops open till 11 p.m., movies are being shot there, schools do not shut even for a day. Why should elections be conducted at the cost of people’s security?”

Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule, however, said that unemployment was at its peak in J&K, which is also reeling under electricity problems. “What magic has happened in J&K in the past four years that there is no electricity for more than 10 hours? Why cannot you send electricity to J&K through the national grid? If Srinagar is not getting power, what about interior places? Things are better, that doesn’t mean they are okay. Terror attacks happened in September and November, where sons of the soil were killed,” she said.

Given that one of the proposed amendment Bills is related to reservations, YSR Congress MP B.V Satyavathy took the opportunity to state her party demands for a caste census to be conducted along with the population census. She added that a separate Ministry for other backward classes (OBC) should be created, and demanded reservation for OBCs in State Assemblies as well. Kaushalendra Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) also demanded a caste census.

Seats for Kashmiri migrants

The J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill seeks to nominate two members from the Kashmiri migrant community, who allegedly “migrated” out of the Valley when militancy was at its peak in 1989-90, as members of the J&K Assembly. One of the members will be a woman. It also proposes to nominate one member from former residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who were displaced in the 1947-48, 1965, and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars. It also seeks to increase the number of seats in the Assembly from 107 to 114, reserving of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes for the first time.

The J&K Reservation (Amendment) Bill seeks to provide reservations in jobs and admission to professional institutions to members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other socially and educationally backward communities.