On the second day of the Winter Session of Parliament, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2023 for discussion and passage.
Participating in the discussion on the bills, Congress MP Manish Tewari asked the Centre why elections were not held in Kashmir.
“I humbly want to ask the Home Minister when the J & K assembly election will be held?” Tiwari said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was moved in the Lower House to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.
The Act provides for reservation in appointment and admission in professional institutions for the members of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes.
After demand from some Opposition party members for a reply on the Bills, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he would reply on the bills at length.
Shah, replying to some Opposition members during the discussion on bills, said how can a country have two Prime Ministers and two flags? Prime Minister Narendra Modi corrected it. “We have been saying that there should be Ek Pradhan, ek Nishan aur ek vidhan,” Shah said.
What is in the bill?
The Reorganization Bill expanded the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s capacity from 83 to 90 seats as stipulated in the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1950.
Out of these, seven seats are designated for Scheduled Castes and nine for Scheduled Tribes, as highlighted by PRS.
Additionally, the Bill empowers the Lieutenant Governor to appoint two representatives from the Kashmiri migrant community to the Assembly, including at least one woman.
Furthermore, the legislation permits the L-G to nominate one member to represent displaced individuals from Jammu Kashmir under Pakistani control in the Assembly.
The Reservation Bill amended the Jammu Kashmir Reservation Act of 2004 and now incorporates provisions for job and professional institution admission reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other disadvantaged classes.
According to the PRS report, the Bill defines socially and educationally backward classes to include individuals in villages designated as such by Jammu and Kashmir, those in areas near the Line of Control and International Border, as well as specified weak and underprivileged social castes.