India assures statehood to Jammu & Kashmir |
India`s Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Parliament on 13th February 2021 that Jammu & Kashmir will get statehood at an appropriate time. Currently, with the recent constitutional amendments, Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory. Ladakh was also given the Union Territory status. The Home Minister was replying to the discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill of 2021 in the Lok Sabha. Shah said, "Many MPs said that bringing the bill means that the Union territory would not get statehood. I am piloting the Bill, I brought it. I have clarified the intentions,". Shah clarified that , "Nowhere is it written that Jammu and Kashmir would not get the statehood. Where are you drawing the conclusion from? I have said in this House, and I say it again that this Bill has got nothing to do with the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. Statehood would be given to the UT at an appropriate time,". On 8th February 2021, the Upper House or Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad reiterated the Congress party`s demand to restore statehood status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced by the Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha on February 4 to replace Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha earlier. The new bill is aimed to merge the Jammu and Kashmir cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers with that of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory (AGMUT).
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