J&K Pandits issue evokes heated debate in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed heated exchanges between the MPs of the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, even as Home Minister Rajnath Singh reaffirmed the NDA government’s commitment to rehabilitate and ensure return of the migrants.

Kashmiri Pandits had to leave the valley in the wake of insurgency since the early 1990s. “What could have been a greater challenge for us, if citizens of this country, our fellow citizens, have to live like refugees in their own country? This is an issue related to the dignity of the nation. It has nothing to do with caste, creed and religion,” said the home minister.

The government has started finalising the contours of a scheme for rehabilitation, he added.
Kavitha, daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, spoke about the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits and demanded justice for them on a day when it was revealed that the police had booked her on sedition charges for allegedly saying that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Telangana were not part of India.

“Does the government have any blueprint for their return? If yes, what plans does it have to ensure their safety and to give them protection? It is because, right now, it seems that the government is trying to push them back to their homeland just to show some result,” said Kavitha.