'Jaan bhi de denge', says Amit Shah as Congress raises PoK issue in Lok Sabha

File Photo

Union Home Minister on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress party as Lok Sabha debated the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill. When the opposition party questioned the move on abrogation of Article 370 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government, the Home Minister responded saying that when he talks about Jammu and Kashmir, it includes Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Aksai Chin.

The Congress attack on the government was led by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who alleged that government must clarify if PoK is a bilateral issue. Responding to it, the Home Minister said he was even willing to sacrifice his life for the whole of Kashmir. “Jaan bhi de denge,” said Shah.

In a strong rebuttal of the attack by the Congress, the Home Minister asked, “The Congress must explain if it wants an intervention by the United Nations in Kashmir.”

“There is no legal or constitutional dispute on the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country...Even the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir says that the state is an internal part of Union of India,” said the Home Minister.

“This House has witnessed several historic moments and I can say with pride that this bill is here to create history,” said Shah as he explained the legal and Constitutional aspects of the abrogation of Article 370 and restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress, however, continued to attack the government, with Manish Tewari saying that “Kashmir was made an integral part of India by (former prime minister) Jawaharlal Nehru”.

Tewari accused the government of “taking unilateral decisions”, terming the developments in Jammu and Kashmir as “Constitutional crisis”.

Another opposition party, the DMK, raised the issue of detention of politicians, including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, on the floor of the House. According to DMK MP TR Balu, “we are in a state of undeclared emergency”.

Former Union minister also raised question on the detention of Farooq Abdullah, saying, “A member of this House, Farooq Abdullah, is missing”.