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Kashmir women`s bill tabled in council
Jammu, Mar 11: A controversial bill that seeks to rescind the permanent resident status of Jammu and Kashmir women who marry outside the state was Thursday tabled in the legislative council, the upper house of the state legislature.
Jammu, Mar 11: A controversial bill that seeks to rescind the permanent resident status of Jammu and Kashmir women who marry outside the state was Thursday tabled in the legislative council, the upper house of the state legislature.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig tabled the Jammu and Kashmir Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill 2004, which was unanimously passed by the state assembly, the lower house on Friday.
The bill has sparked protests both in Kashmir and outside the state, and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has urged the state government to review the proposed law.
The Congress and the Panthers Party, both partners in Kashmir's ruling coalition that had backed the bill in the lower house, have now come out against it after widespread public protests.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's People's Democratic Party (PDP) has, however, said it is committed to the passage of the bill to protect Kashmir's exclusive character.
When the bill was tabled in the upper house on Thursday, members of the main opposition National Conference wanted it to be treated as a "simple piece of legislation", meaning that it could be passed with a simple majority of the 30-member legislative council.
The National Conference has 14 members in the upper house while the PDP has five.
Though the actual strength of the upper house is 36, six seats are currently vacant.
The Congress and the Panthers Party, however, said the bill was a special constitutional bill that required a two-thirds majority for its passage.
The tabling of the bill Thursday coincided with a shutdown in Jammu called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP has described the bill as a "retrograde step" and has pledged to fight it on the streets. Bureau Report
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig tabled the Jammu and Kashmir Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill 2004, which was unanimously passed by the state assembly, the lower house on Friday.
The bill has sparked protests both in Kashmir and outside the state, and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has urged the state government to review the proposed law.
The Congress and the Panthers Party, both partners in Kashmir's ruling coalition that had backed the bill in the lower house, have now come out against it after widespread public protests.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's People's Democratic Party (PDP) has, however, said it is committed to the passage of the bill to protect Kashmir's exclusive character.
When the bill was tabled in the upper house on Thursday, members of the main opposition National Conference wanted it to be treated as a "simple piece of legislation", meaning that it could be passed with a simple majority of the 30-member legislative council.
The National Conference has 14 members in the upper house while the PDP has five.
Though the actual strength of the upper house is 36, six seats are currently vacant.
The Congress and the Panthers Party, however, said the bill was a special constitutional bill that required a two-thirds majority for its passage.
The tabling of the bill Thursday coincided with a shutdown in Jammu called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP has described the bill as a "retrograde step" and has pledged to fight it on the streets. Bureau Report