NEW DELHI; Parliament Tuesday approved the extension of president’s rule in the Jammu and Kashmir state for a further period of six months from September 3, with minister of state for interior affairs, M.M.Jacob, asserting in the upper house Sabha that India would never forsake its claims on Pakistan held Kashmir.
The Rajya Sabha (upper house) approved the extension of the president’s rule by voice vote and an amendment moved by S.P.Malviya (Samajwadi Janata Party) seeking to limit the extension to only three months was not pressed.
The Lok Sabha (lower house) has already approved the extension,
Amidst thumping of desks by MPs, Jacob said a political initiative to end the current imbroglio in Kashmir was underway and this would focus on generating public opinion against militancy and its sponsorship by Pakistan, Referring to BJP’s demand for abolition of article 370 of the constitution in relation to Jammu and Kashmir, Jacob said it was a political decision taken by Jawaharlal Nehru which would never be surrendered.
Rejecting the U.N. resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, he said, we are ready to accept the Shimla agreement,
The minister rejected the demand of carving out Kashmir, Laddakh and Jammu into three separate states, but assured that the place of development of these regions would be stepped up.
The Indian minister assured the house that the intelligence agencies in the valley would be strengthened to collect information and take firm measures to counter the challenge posed by growing militancy,
Jacob chided Pakistan for mistaking India, saying the people were united on the boundary issue and any assault on Indian soil would be repulsed with all might and cited the outcome of the last 1971 Indo-Pak war.
The revenue from tourism had drastically declined and all efforts were underway to restore normalcy and promote tourism in the state, he said.
He said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir warranted extension of president’s rule and assured that the state would go to polls when the situation normalizes,
Earlier, participating in the debate on statutory resolution seeking extension of president’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir for another six months, prof Surendra Bhattacharya (revolutionary socialist party) wanted an immediate dialogue between the center and militants to break the stalemate.
He said the special status to Jammu and Kashmir had become irrelevant due to inaction by the center towards the intricate issue involved in the problem.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 30, 1991
