Lok Sabha: Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Amendment Bill passed, Tribunal Reform Bill introduced

The Lok Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill 2021 on Saturday. As per the provisions of the Bill, officers of the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service of the existing Jammu and Kashmir cadre will now be part of the cadre of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories. Subsequently, the Tribunal Reforms (Streamlining and Conditions of Service) Bill 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur introduced the said bill in the lower house.Ladakh MP Jamyang Sering Namgyal welcomed the passage of the bill. He said, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill passed in the Lok Sabha will give the state officials a chance to serve elsewhere and officers from another place will come and serve in the state. This will increase experience and ability to work.Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah responded in detail to the discussion regarding this bill. All future officers’ allocations for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be from cadre of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories. According to the bill, cadre officers of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories will act as per the rules fixed by the central government.The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Saturday for discussion and passage by the government. It has provision to make officers of the existing Jammu and Kashmir cadre of the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service as part of the cadre of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories. The bill will replace the Jammu Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Ordinance, which was issued last month.Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur introduced the Tribunal Reforms (Streamlining and Conditions of Service) Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha in the lower house. Through it, provision has been made to amend some provisions of the Cinematography Act 1952, Customs Act 1962, Airport Authority of India Act 1994, Trade Marks Act 1999, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2013 etc. The objectives and reasons of the Bill stated that its purpose is to make the tribunals simple and practical. Participating in the discussion on the bill, Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary objected to the ordinance being brought for it and said that regular ordinances are not good for parliamentary democracy. This means that the government removed the provisions of Article 370 without preparation, otherwise do not consider it after one and a half years. The Congress leader said that local cadres are necessary in Jammu and Kashmir, because the citizens there do not trust this government. Chaudhary also said that the government had assured to return the Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley but whether a single Kashmiri Pandit has been returned till date. Hassan Masoodi of the National Conference opposed the bill, saying that this government’s decision to divide the state into two parts and abolish the provisions of Article 370 on 5 August 2019 was unilateral and nothing short of an invasion against the people of Kashmir. We will continue to oppose them in a just manner. Masudi said petitions were filed in the apex court against it which were accepted for consideration and sent to the Constitution Bench. Even after the matter is pending before the court, the government enacted the first law which is an insult to the Constitution. The bill introduced today is also part of that implementation process. Satyapal Singh of BJP said during the discussion that after the implementation of this bill, the state officials will know how the country runs, how development happens. Despite thousands of incidents of ‘genocide’ in the state over the years, no one was punished. There were such officers and administrators in the state, so this bill is necessary.