Both Houses of Parliament passed two important pieces of legislation regarding Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday (December 6). These are The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and The Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at amending the Jammu and Reservation Act, 2004.
By wooing the Kashmiri Pandits and Pahadia community in the region, the two laws are seen as an attempt by the Union government to alter the political landscape to its advantage ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
24 Seats Reserved For Pakistan Occupied Kashmir
In his answer to the conversation on the Bill in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah expressed, “Prior there were 37 seats in Jammu which have now become 43, prior there were 46 seats in the valley which have now become 47, and 24 seats have been kept saved for Pakistan-involved Kashmir because POK is our own,” Shah said, repeating a position India has held by and large.
The legislative assembly initially had 100 members including 24 for PoK, up to 1988 when the seats were increased to 111.
No Seats Reserved In Aksai Chin
From that point onward, India has purportedly lost north of 1,000 square km of land to Chinese occupation. Even though Aksai Chin is a part of the union territory of Ladakh, it has traditionally not had any seats reserved in the assembly. This anomaly was not fixed by the delimitation exercise or the state reorganization Bills.
Protest Started In Valley
Protests had broken out especially in the Valley when the draft of the delimitation report was submitted because it was felt the criterion of population was ignored. Kashmir accounted for 56% of the population per the 2011 census which formed the basis for the delimitation exercise.
Trying To Take Kashmiri Pandit Back Home
In an impassioned speech during the discussion on the motion, he said, “As chief minister, I tried to bring the Pandits back home. When we tried, inimical forces from across the border killed innocent Pandits in a village near Ganderbal. Immediately we had to stop the vehicles to bring them back home. I want to ask you, in your 10 years, how many have you brought back home? None.”