Both the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were approved by the Lok Sabha with the intention of giving “rights to those who faced injustice” and were denied their rights in the Union Territory.
Speaking about the two bills pertaining to Jammu Kashmir in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister Amit Shah stated that one of the bills aims to represent individuals who fled their home country and holds a seat reserved for those who have been uprooted from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023: This bill seeks to make changes to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 gave Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and other socially and educationally disadvantaged groups preference for employment and admittance to professional institutions.
The 2004 Act’s Section 2 is intended to be amended by the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill.
The amending bill proposes to rename a group of individuals who were previously referred to as “weak and under privileged classes (social castes)” as “other backward classes.”
Also read: Terrorists who murdered Kashmiri Pandit encountered in Shopian.
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023: This bill aims to alter the 2019 Act and give Kashmiri migrants and displaced people from the PoK representation in the Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly is to be represented by one representative of the displaced people from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and two members of the Kashmiri migrant community.
The amended bill suggests increasing the Legislative Assembly’s size from 83 to 90 seats.
One of the goals of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023 is to set aside seats for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people.
