On the midweek session, specifically Wednesday, Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, presented a duo of legislative proposals about Jammu and Kashmir within the confines of the Lok Sabha. The duo comprised the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
In the course of his address in the Lok Sabha on this particular Wednesday, Minister Amit Shah disclosed a noteworthy development: 24 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were designated for Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), emphatically asserting their integral connection to India.
During the formal presentation of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2023 in the legislative assembly, Amit Shah illuminated alterations in the distribution of seats. He specified that Jammu, previously endowed with 37 seats, had now seen an augmentation to 43 seats. Simultaneously, Kashmir, which previously housed 46 seats, witnessed a modest increment to 47. Notably, Minister Shah underscored the reservation of 24 seats for residents of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
Delving into the motive behind the bills in the Lok Sabha discourse, Amit Shah expressed, "When they (referring to Kashmiri Pandits) were displaced, they were compelled to exist as refugees within their own homeland. Approximately 46,631 families experienced displacement within their native land. This proposed legislation aims to restore their rights and provide them with due representation."
Amit Shah further expounded that the legislative initiatives were geared towards rectifying the historical injustices endured by the populace over the past seven decades. One of the two bills focusing on Jammu and Kashmir aspires to nominate two members from the Kashmiri migrant community, one of whom must be a woman, to the legislative assembly.
Taking a pointed jab at the Congress party, Amit Shah lamented the prevalence of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir post the 1980s, highlighting that those tasked with quelling it were seemingly indulging in leisurely vacations in England. He reiterated the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, emphasizing, "When Kashmiri Pandits were displaced, they were forced to live as refugees in their own country."
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