J&K Reorganisation Bill Gets Lok Sabha Nod, Ladakh and J&K To Be Union Territories After Presidential Assent

Having passed the Rajya Sabha test yesterday (5 August), the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Reorganisation Bill, 2019 has now gained the Lok Sabha’s nod too.

The bill passed with 366 members voting in its favour, 66 in opposition and one member abstaining.

The bill saw heated debate, with Congress and Left parties predominantly opposing its passage. Manish Tewary, leader of the Congress party invoked Hyderabad and Junagarh accession during the debate leading to a terse response from several other parliamentarians.

The Congress-led 2014 division of Andhra Pradesh was also discussed during the debate.

Following the Presidential accent, the bill will become the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 and J&K will be divided into 2 Union Territories. The first UT, Ladakh will consist of the districts of Leh and Kargil while the UT of J&K will comprise of all the districts except those two.

The UT of J&K is to be administered by a Lieutenant Governor who will be advised by an elected legislature. Seats will be reserved for SC/ST population the legislature in proportion to their population in the state. The UT of Ladakh shall be administered by a Lieutenant Governor without a legislature.

The current governor of J&K, Satyapal Malik is to continue as the administrator of the UTs until new appointments are made by the President of India.

The decision to create a separate UT for Ladakh has been taken due to a long pending demand of people of Ladakh, to give it the status of a Union Territory to enable them to realise their aspirations.

Converting J&K to a UT has been fuelled by the internal security situation in the state, fuelled by cross border terrorism in the existing J&K state.