“What was denied to the people of J&K for over 70 years will be given to them,” Sitharaman
In the Lok Sabha on Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a 1.42-lakh-crore budget for Jammu and Kashmir for the fiscal year 2022-23. In presenting the budget, Sitharaman stated that the repeal of Article 370, which conferred special status to the erstwhile state, had resulted in the application of 890 Central laws in Jammu and Kashmir.
“What has been denied to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for over 70 years will be given to them,” she stated, despite objections from rival parties who accused the administration of rushing through the proposals.
She went on to say that repealing Article 370 has “allowed that which Dr (BR) Ambedkar gave for the rest of the country – SC/ST (laws) are now available for people of J&K.”
“In J&K, 1,198 startups have been registered. “Over 200 startups have been supported to date,” she added, adding that during the Covid-19 pandemic, “143 crore was supplied to MSME units in J&K under the Emergency Credit Guarantee Scheme.””
Sitharaman also tabled the Union Territory’s additional demands for the fiscal year 2021-22, totaling Rs 18,860.32 crore, and moved a resolution to suspend certain norms to allow the House to take up the debate on the same day.
Manish Tewari, a Congress politician, said the government has failed to meet the goals it set out when it repealed Article 370. He also inquired about the possibility of restoring full statehood to J&K.
J&K’s special status conferred under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked by the Narendra Modi administration on August 5, 2019. The state was also partitioned into two Union territories, with the government vowing to restore statehood at a “suitable moment.”
