Deaths of CAPFs in J&K, Illegal Activities of Islamic Outfits also in the list of unstarred questions
K Koushal & Anmol Ohri
Union Ministry of Home Affairs is due to answer questions related to the ‘Impact of Removal of Article 370’ and ‘Detention of Political Leaders in Jammu and Kashmir’, besides a list of 40 other queries during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, which will be held between September 14 to October 1 and without any weekend breaks, amid the unprecedented raging coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
For the Seventeenth Lok Sabha session, all the Divisional Heads were requested to direct the concerned Dir/DS/US to authenticate the final/fair typed copy by R&I with the approved draft in R&I Section on Monday 14th September, 2020 by appending his/her signature on the reverse of each page of the final version before it goes for printing by R&I Section. The Dir/DS/US of the Division concerned will be responsible for the correctness of the final reply.
Among the tentative list of Lok Sabha Un-starred Questions due for answer on 15.09.2020, Home Ministry is asked about Impact of Removal of Article 370, Detention of Political Leaders in J&K, Increase in the incidents of Rapes, Promotion of Hindi language, Deaths of Paramilitary Forces, Capacity of prisons, Legislation on Torture, Citizenship Amendment Act, Custodial deaths, Compensation for Land across Indo-Pak border, Joint Action Plan against Terrorism, Deaths of CAPFs in J&K, Circulation of Fake Currency Notes, Cross Border Intrusion, Illegal Activities of Islamic Outfits, Nexus of Film Industry in Drug Trafficking and Violation of Human Rights among other questions.
“All Joint Secretaries in MHA, D/o OL & RG have been advised to mail the answer of their respective questions on [email protected] & [email protected] without fail, as soon as the file is cleared by the concerned JSs / ASs. If there will be any major change being suggested by the senior officers / Ministers, the concerned section will contact the Parliament section to make the changes in the final reply” reads notification of Ministry of Home Affairs Parliament Section.
Political experts in Jammu and Kashmir see a list of unstarred questions of the Home Ministry, especially queries pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, as a remarkable move to make the union government accountable for the things promised and things on ground.
“During the abrogation of Article 370 last year, many promises were made with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but even after one year, no substantial change has been witnessed,” said a senior professor of political science, wishing anonymity, adding that the silence of the union government and BJP cadre in Jammu since then vindicates that the move was only to attract vote bank in rest of the India.
He asserted that in the list of questions, ‘Impact of Removal of Article 370’ and ‘Detention of Political Leaders’ would be an interesting query, because one year has passed, home ministry appeared to have played political gimmick over the issue, without citing any rationale behind the move.
“You can see, they (BJP leaders) have been selling Jammu and Kashmir for political gains and they did not do anything on ground to assimilate local population,” said the professor, adding that they had promised sky, but nothing substantial has been done.
In the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised more schemes and jobs and ensured that he would give Jammu & Kashmir full statehood once situation improves, indicating that the Union territory status is only temporary. He further elaborated on how 42,000 people have lost their lives in Kashmir since Independence, reminding everyone that measures adopted so far have not yielded the desired results.
“No jobs, no more schemes! The youth of Jammu and Kashmir have been forced to live in dark ages with low speed internet, especially in this pandemic when everything has been made virtual and online,” lamented the professor, adding that the government cannot provide you basic facilities and they talk about peace.
However, very clear with his intentions with regard to Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah has already asserted that the Modi government has ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards terrorism and its ideology is to ensure protection of borders and make the country free of terrorism.
Pertinently, Home Minister Amit Shah had astonished the opposition by moving two bills and two resolutions related to Jammu & Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha, which has completely changed the strategic landscape in South Asia by abolishing the special status given to the state of Jammu & Kashmir under Indian Constitution. The first resolution moved by the home minister extended all provisions of the country’s constitution without any modification and exceptions to the state. Through the second resolution, the President Ramnath Kovind has referred to a bill to reorganise the state of Jammu & Kashmir in two distinct union territories – Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature, and strategically located Ladakh as a separate union territory without a legislature.
Though, the Home Minister’s announcement evoked strong protests from the opposition with leaders of Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, NCP and Left raising slogans and storming the well of the House, but later on things appeared settled and irrelevant. Shah, who received a standing ovation from his party colleagues, termed the move as “historical”, saying Article 370 has not allowed integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the country.
It won’t be out of place to mention that during the Seventeenth Lok Sabha session, the government wants to pass at least 11 ordinances, including three on farm sector reforms, and a few other pending bills during the packed 18-day Parliament session.
“Members will be supplied with ‘ayes’/‘noes’ printed slips at their seats for recording their votes. ‘ayes’ slips are printed on one side in green and ‘noes’ on its reverse in red, both in English and Hindi languages,” said the notice.
“On the slips, members may record votes of their choice by signing and writing legibly their names, Division numbers and date. Members who desire to record ‘abstention’ may ask for the ‘abstention’ slips,” the notice added.
