- The ruling National Congress Party in IIOJK is sponsoring the resolution.
- BJP legislators are opposing and protesting against the resolution seeking rights of IIOJK.
- Modi says “no force” in the world can restore IIOJK’s partial autonomy.
The parliament of the Indian occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed another day of unrest on Thursday, as members of the legislature introduced a new resolution seeking to restore the region’s special status as originally provided for in the Indian Constitution.
The second resolution moved by the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP) was met with strong opposition from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (PJV) MLAs, who continued to protest a similar resolution passed by the legislature the previous day.
The newly elected Assembly of Occupied Kashmir approved the resolution seeking to restore partial autonomy to the region by a majority vote.
“This Assembly calls on the Government of India to initiate a dialogue with the elected representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to restore special status,” the resolution said.
The Nationalist Congress Party, which came to power last month in the region’s first vote in a decade and the first since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government canceled it in August 2019, sponsored the resolution.
In a unilateral move by the Indian Parliament, the BJP-led government at the Center also downgraded the erstwhile state and divided it into two centrally governed union territories, Ladakh and IIOJK.
The second strongly worded resolution on Thursday seeking to restore Articles 370 and 35(A) of the Constitution in their original form and repeal the Reorganization Act, 2019, created an uproar in the house as BJP legislators brawled with other MLAs trying to snatch copies of the resolution.
The opposition rejected the decision, saying it was “illegal” and demanded its withdrawal. In response, the Speaker said he did not have such powers because anything passed by the House could only be undone by the House itself. Kashmir Monitor I mentioned.
The rioters were later driven from the rear by Sargent-at-Arms and proceedings were adjourned until today (Friday).
According to a report by L Daily SabahThe decision requires the approval of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, the New Delhi-appointed senior director of IIOJK.
Reacting to the decision, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi bragged that “no force” in the world could restore IIOJK’s partial autonomy because he had “buried the Article 370 wall in the graveyard.”
Speaking at a public meeting on Thursday, Modi said those who dream of restoring Article 370 status should be aware of the fact that the decision to revoke the region’s special status was not an ordinary decision, and no power in the world could undo it.
Since then, the disputed region was ruled by a New Delhi-appointed governor until last month when an alliance of anti-Modi parties was elected to the local Legislative Assembly.