Expedite process to grant statehood to Jammu and Kashmir: Parliamentary panel urges MHA

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to expedite the process of grant of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was a promise made by the union government in 2019 when the state was bifurcated into two union territories.

The Rajya Sabha Committee on Government Assurances made the recommendation in a report tabled in the Upper House during the just concluded Winter Session of Parliament. The committee was examining the issues raised in an unstarred question on July 27, 2022 regarding the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

The report said the issue was discussed by the panel headed by senior AIADMK MP M Thambiduarai with representatives of the government of union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the MHA during a study visit to Srinagar on July 13 last year, the report said.

"...restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir was a promise made by the union government at the time of reorganisation of the erstwhile state in 2019. It is, therefore, incumbent upon all the concerned authorities to expedite the necessary procedures involved to fulfil that promise of the union government," the report said.

"The Committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry of Home Affairs to expedite the process of grant of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and liquidate the assurance at the earliest," it said.

The representative of the MHA informed the committee that the matter is being examined at the appropriate level and a decision in the matter will be taken at the earliest, it said.

The panel said that an Implementation Report for fulfilment of the assurance was laid on the Table of the House in August 2023 stating that the grant of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir depends on multiple factors and it would be granted at an appropriate time.

The report said the Implementation Report was examined and was “treated as partial-fulfilment of the assurance” since the grant of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir is yet to be done.

Against that backdrop, it said, the committee heard from the representatives of MHA the latest status of the assurance along with the progress made, so far, and steps taken towards fulfilment of the assurance, besides listening to the Jammu and Kashmir government representatives.