Parliament nods, ends special status to Jammu and Kashmir

With the final nod coming from the parliament to scrap Article 370, the Modi Government received a lot of appreciation for with 370 voting for it and 70 voting against it.

Replying to opposition in the debate in the parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “The history will decide if the decision to repealing special status to Jammu and Kashmir is right or wrong.” The bill (Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019, now has Rajya Sabha’s nod and will waiting for Presidential assent before it becoming an act.

With the scraping of the Article 370, the Bill strips Jammu and Kashmir of enjoying a special status. From now on, the Bill has bifurcated the valley into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without legislature. The bill was passed in Rajya Sabha on Monday after a division pressed by the opposition, with 125 votes in favour and 61 against, while an NCP member abstained.

There were questions raised in the parliament about why curfew-like situation arose in Jammu and Kashmir. For this, the Home Minister replied that such arrangements were done only to safeguard the citizens. 35,000 troops were brought only as a precautionary measure.

Amit Shah also justified his move saying that the Article 370 curbed any development in the valley. In a matter of five years, the valley will see a lot of development and growth in terms of education and economy. The Bill will ensure integrity, empowerment and prosperity to the valley.

“In Parliament, political parties rose to the occasion, overcame ideological differences and took part in a rich debate that increased the pride of our Parliamentary democracy. For that, I congratulate all MPs, various political parties and their leaders,” he added.