Winter Session: key J&K amendment bills passed in Lok Sabha amid opposition walkout

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to nominate two members from the Kashmiri migrant community and one representing the 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 nomenclature of a section of people who are eligible for quota in appointment and admission.

The bills were passed after more than six hours of debate spanning over two days and a spirited reply by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The home minister said the two bills related to Jammu and Kashmir brought by the government will give justice to those deprived of their rights for the last 70 years and asserted that reservation to the displaced people will give them a voice in the legislature.

He said that Jammu and Kashmir has suffered due to two blunders committed by the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru - first announcing ceasefire and then taking the Kashmir issue to the United Nations.

"Had Jawaharlal Nehru taken right steps, PoK would have been part of India now. It was a historic blunder," he said.

The home minister said a plan to have zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir has been in force for the last three years and it will be successful by 2026 when there will be no violence.