Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill 2023 have been passed by the Lok Sabha. It provides for nominating two members of the Kashmiri Pandit community and one member representing displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) to the Legislative Assembly.
The House also passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to change the designation of a class of people eligible for reservation in appointments and admissions. The bills were passed after more than six hours of debate lasting two days and a spirited reply from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Home Minister Amit Shah said the two bills introduced by the government related to Jammu and Kashmir would give justice to the people who have been deprived of their rights for the last 70 years. He said that reservation for the displaced people would give them a voice in the legislature.
According to the Home Minister, nine seats in the Assembly have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). 24 seats have been reserved for POK because POK is ours. He said that these two amendments will be remembered by every Kashmiri who is suffering and backward. Their voices will be heard in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly by giving reservation to the displaced. Asked about the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley, Shah said 880 flats had been built for the Kashmiri displaced persons and the process of handing them over was underway.