New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday morning began discussions on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill and the resolution on reading down Article 370 of the constitution which, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Monday. A number of opposition parties on Monday had supported the move, making things easier for the government. Others, however, criticised the government’s decision as well as the hush-hush and rushed manner in which the changes were brought in.
While parliament continues to debate the government’s decision, large parts of J&K are facing a total communication blackout. Former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were detained on Monday evening.
Home minister Amit Shah defended the decision in the Lok Sabha, at one point even standing up to shout that they (the government) “would give their lives” to ensure the unity of India, including Kashmir.
“This is a historic moment in India’s history. What we’re discussing today will impact generations. Many have been questioning the legality of the president’s order that I brought in Rajya Sabha yesterday. Parliament has the right to make laws on Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah said.
Shah also denied in the Lok Sabha claims of Farood Abdullah being detained, saying the leader was “neither detained nor arrested; he is at his home on his own will, said.”
The DMK had earlier in the day put forth its strong disagreement with the resolution, as well as the government’s decision to take political leaders in the Valley into custody. “Farooq Abdullah, a member of this House is missing,” party MP Dayanidhi Maran said. “He is arrested. We have no intimation about his whereabouts. You as a Speaker should protect the members. You should be neutral.”
Trinamool Congress MPs also criticised the detention of political leaders, and staged a walkout from the house. West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said her party “cannot support” the move.
The Congress appears divided on the issue. A number of member have tweeted saying that in their “personal opinion”, revoking Article 370 is a good thing and they stand behind the decision. The party, though, has said that it disagrees with the move. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the government was “unilaterally tearing apart J&K, imprisoning elected representatives and violating our Constitution”.
Inside the Lok Sabha too, the Congress failed to put up a convincing opposition to the Modi government. When Amit Shah asked Congress’s Manish Tiwari to make the party’s stand on the matter clear, Tiwari said, “Things can’t always be measured in terms of black and white, you have many shades of grey in between.” He argued that the problem was that the Jammu and Kashmir assembly (which doesn’t exist at the moment as the state is under president’s rule) wasn’t consulted.
Tiwari also said that the move was a blow to federalism. “In last 70 years, several times we saw demands that union territories be converted into states but this is probably the first time in history that a state has been converted into a union territory. There cannot be a bigger blow to federal structure than this.”
Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also caught eyeballs when he disputed the Centre’s claim that Kashmir was an “internal matter”. Several commentators said that his lack of proficiency in Hindu may have led him to make what people are calling a “self-goal”
“You don’t consider Jammu and Kashmir an integral part India? What are you saying? Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Whenever I say Jammu and Kashmir, PoK comes under it. I am being aggressive because you didn’t think that PoK comes under Jammu and Kashmir. We can die for it,” Amit Shah shout back.
Unlike the Rajya Sabha, the Modi government has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. It should therefore have no problem passing the resolution as soon as it is put to a vote. Opposition parties including the YSR Congress, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and AIADMK have also expressed their support for the move.
