Kharge, Rahul write to PM; urge govt to bring legislation to restore J-K statehood
New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI): Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for a legislation in Parliament's upcoming Monsoon session to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The leaders of opposition in the two houses of Parliament -- Kharge is the LoP in the Rajya Sabha and Gandhi is the LoP in the Lok Sabha -- also called on the government to bring a legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
In their joint letter to Modi, Kharge and Gandhi said that for the past five years, the people of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for the restoration of full statehood.
This demand is both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights, they said.
"It is important to recognise that while there have been instances of Union territories being granted statehood in the past, the case of Jammu and Kashmir is without precedent in independent India. This is the first time a full-fledged state has been downgraded to a Union territory following its bifurcation," the letter said.
"Your goodself has, on multiple occasions, personally reiterated the government's commitment to restoring statehood. In your interview in Bhubaneswar on 19 May 2024, you stated: 'The restoration of statehood is a solemn promise we have made and we stand by it'. Again, while addressing a rally in Srinagar on 19 September 2024, you reaffirmed: 'We have said in Parliament that we will restore the region's statehood'," the two leaders said.
The Union government has also made similar assurances before the Supreme Court in the Article 370 matter, submitting that statehood would be restored "at the earliest and as soon as possible", they pointed out.
"In view of the foregoing and aforementioned, we urge upon the government to bring forward a legislation in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," Kharge and Gandhi said.
"Additionally, we request that the government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution," they said.
This would be a significant step towards addressing the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of the people of Ladakh, while safeguarding their rights, land, and identity, the letter said.
Reacting to Kharge and Gandhi jointly writing the letter to Modi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the Congress initiative, saying "we are not demanding something that was not promised to us".
"This is a very good thing, we were waiting for this day when the opposition would raise our voice in Parliament and Delhi. I am thankful to Kharge and Rahul that they have raised the statehood issue with the Centre," the chief minister said on the sidelines of an event in Jammu, when asked about the letter.
He said, "We are not demanding something which was not promised to us. We were repeatedly promised within and outside Parliament, Supreme Court and public functions that the statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time."
Expressing gratitude, spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir's ruling National Conference (NC) Imran Nabi Dar said, "We welcome this and thank the Congress leadership for taking the initiative."
He said there is no reason to delay the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory further.
"We are hopeful that the government will bring the bill (for the restoration of statehood) in the forthcoming Monsoon session (of Parliament)," Dar said.
People's Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson Mohit Bhan said statehood is the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and there has already been a delay in restoring it.
"As far as statehood is concerned, that should be given to Jammu and Kashmir. The prime minister and the home minister have promised it and I think much time has already passed and Jammu and Kashmir should get its statehood back," he said.
Bhan, however, asserted that the "real fight" is for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, which were revoked by the Centre on August 5, 2019 and the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into Union territories.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Karra expressed gratitude to the party leadership for its letter to Modi.
The letter comes a day after the top Congress leadership decided to raise issues such as the Pahalgam terror attack, the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and rising atrocities against women in the country during the Monsoon session starting July 21.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
