POK retains 24 seats, Pandits get reserved seats in J&K Assembly

New Delhi: Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) retains 24 seats, while Kashmiri Pandits get reserved seats in the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) State Assembly as the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were passed in the Lok Sabha today.

Replying to the discussion on the Bills, Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that these bills would provide rights and justice to those who were treated unjustly and insulted and ignored for 70 years. He pointed out that for the first time in the history of J&K, 9 seats have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes and seats have also been reserved for Scheduled Castes.

Earlier there were 107 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, which now got increased to 114 seats. Now, in place of 37 seats, Jammu got 43, while the number of seats in Kashmir increased from 46 to 47. Furthermore, from the total of 2 nominated members, the State Assembly would now have 5 nominated members. Besides, 24 seats were kept reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, “because POK is ours”, Shah said. It may be mentioned that the J&K Constitution, enacted in 1956, had earmarked 24 seats from the POK in the legislative assembly that were left vacant and not contested during state elections.

Referring to the provision made by the Delimitation Commission to reserve  2 seats for displaced Kashmiri Pandits and 1 seat for the people displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Shah noted that the displaced people had to live as refugees in other parts of their own country. Citing figures, he said, 1,57,967 people from about 46,631 families were displaced from Jammu and Kashmir. He said that these bills would give them rights and representation. He noted that all groups of displaced people had asked the Delimitation Commission to take cognizance of their representation.

Shah said that a Backward Classes Commission was formed, which met 198 delegations and 16,000 people in 750 days. The hearing was held in all 20 districts and about 26,000 applications received by post were also taken into consideration. The suggestion of reforming the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act was a basic element among them. He said that this Act existed earlier also, but it was for the weaker sections, “whereas this time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given them respect by giving them the constitutional name Other Backward Classes”. 

In response to the question raised by some opposition members about the legitimacy of giving reservations to the displaced people, Shah said giving reservations to displaced Kashmiris meant they would now have a voice in the Kashmir Assembly and if a situation of displacement arises again, they would themselves stop it.

The passage of these Bills comes amid the demand from the Kashmir-based political parties to hold early elections in the Union Territory.

– global bihari bureau