Parliament passes two crucial Jammu and Kashmir bills

The parliament today passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2023 and J&K Reservation(Amendment) Bill 2023.

The bills were passed unanimously in the Rajya Sabha incidentally on the same day the Supreme Court upheld the repeal of the special status of Jammu & Kashmir.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar, after the unanimous passage of the Bills, remarked, “It is heartening to note that both bills have been passed unanimously. There has been no dissent.”

Earlier during the debate on the topic of both the Bills, Union Home Minsiter Amit Shah said that the Centre is committed to the interests of the Kashmiri Pandit community, and added that the government would ensure that Pandits will be able to contest polls in the state and win, and even go on to become ministers. 

Talking about the Delimitation Commission's plans, Shah told the House that 24 seats have been assigned to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). He also talked of the reservations that the SC and ST communities will be getting. 

Noteworthy here is that the Lok Sabha had cleared both the Bills on December 6.