Govt likely to introduce bill to restore J&K statehood in LS on Aug 20

On Aug 5, 2019, Centre abrogated Article 370 and 35A, ending J&K's special status

The Union government is likely to introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday seeking to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), according to a report in The Tribune.

 

On August 5, 2019, the Government of India abrogated Articles 370 and 35A, which had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir since 1949, and granted the border state special powers over its administration, thanks to a separate Constitution.

 

The removal of the statutes - which rendered the state's separate Constitution defunct - was announced in Parliament by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. As part of the reorganisation announced by Shah, the state was divided into two separate Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, which was given a legislative Assembly, and Ladakh, which was created without one.

 

Calls for statehood restorations

 

On August 7, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote to all national parties, including the BJP, urging them to support the restoration of statehood. In his letter, he called for a bill to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon Parliament session to achieve this.

 

“The restoration must not be viewed as a concession but as an essential course correction, one that prevents us from sliding down a slippery slope where statehood of our constituent states is no longer regarded as a constitutional right but reduced instead to a discretionary favour bestowed at the will of the central govt,” CM Omar Abdullah wrote in his letter.

 

Petitions in SC

 

On August 14, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a petition, filed by academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The apex court had given Centre eight weeks to respond.

 

The bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran noted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s submission that multiple factors were involved in the decision-making process.

 

"You cannot ignore what happened in Pahalgam... It is for Parliament and the Executive to take a decision," the CJI said when senior lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Bhat.