Rajya Sabha approves bifurcation of J & K : Congress doggedly opposed the Bill & Scrapping of Articles 370 & 35-A: It will go to Lok Sabha tomorrow

Rajya Sabha, India’s Upper House of Parliament, on Monday approved a resolution to bifurcate the state into two union territories with Home Minister Amit Shah assuring the lawmakers that upgradation of Jammu & Kashmir to statehood would be granted after the situation normalized. Full statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at “appropriate time” and after “normalcy” returns, he added. Earlier, President Ram Nath Kovind issued Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 which comes into force “at once”, and shall “supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954”. “All the provisions of the Constitution” shall apply in relation to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, it said.The Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill provides for creation of the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Opposition BSP, BJD, AIADMK , TRS, AAP and YSR-Congress voted in favour of the Bill while TMC  and  JD-U members walked out after opposing the . Bill to bifurcate the state was approved by 125 votes in favour and 61 against it. One member abstained. Allaying opposition fears of all hell breaking loose after the move, Shah replying, “nothing will happen” and it won’t be allowed to turn into another battle torn Kosovo.“It was heaven on earth and will remain so,” he said replying to the debate on the resolution and the bill which were taken up together.“Article 370 is biggest hurdle to normalcy in the state,” he said adding his government was committed to making Jammu and Kashmir the most developed state in the country. Terrorism cannot be eliminated from the state until Article 370 and 35A are in existence. The two articles of the Constitution, which give Jammu and Kashmir a special status and does not allow all laws of India to be applicable to the state, have hindered development and breeded corruption adding rule of three families in the state during their 70 years since independence did not allow democracy to percolate to the grassroots. Article 370  and Article  35-A have ruined Jammu and Kashmir and is responsible for poverty in the state, he said. This despite, Rs 14,255 per capita being allocated to J&K as against Rs 3,681 per capita national average, he said. Insisting development was being stalled in the state because of Article 370, he said real estate prices haven’t moved in sync with national average while a bag of cement costs Rs 100 more in the state than anywhere else in the nation. Tourism did not develop in the state because of restrictions on purchase of land for outsiders. No industry can be set up in J&K and no investor is interested in the state because of the two articles. BJP leader Ram Madhav lauded the government’s decision on Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and said the martyrdom of its ideologue Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee for complete integration of the state into India has been “honoured”. Former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani has also hailed the abrogation of the Articles. Shiv Sena said the government’s move has fulfilled the dreams of Bal Thackeray and Atal Behari Vajpayee .

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said Kashmir was ready for the “long and tough battle ahead” after the government scrapped Article 370. “This unilateral decision by the government is a total betrayal of trust. The government resorted to deceit, stealth in recent weeks to lay ground for these disastrous decisions,” he said. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the government’s move on Article 370 was monumental towards national integration (edited by Pranab Kumar Chakravarty).