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KPs urge political parties to support bill on return of Kashmiri Hindus
The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Congress member Vivek Tankha on February 2, 2024, but required the President’s recommendation as it involves financial implications.
Kashmiri Pandits welcomed the recommendation made by President Droupadi Murmu to a bill on the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley and urged political parties to vote for and support the bill concerning the community’s rehabilitation.
President Droupadi Murmu has recommended a private member’s bill calling for the rehabilitation and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits for consideration in the Rajya Sabha.
The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Congress member Vivek Tankha on February 2, 2024, but required the President’s recommendation as it involves financial implications.
The bill will be taken up for voting in the Rajya Sabha in the current session.
“We welcome the recommendation of the President to the private member’s bill on the return and rehabilitation of KPs in the Valley. It has rekindled hope among the community on the issue,” former Jammu Computer Dealers Association President Arvind Kumar said here.
He further urged all political parties to come forward to support, vote for, and pass the bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Vivek Tankha. Similarly, businessman P L Koul also thanked the President. “For the first time in Parliament, a private member’s bill titled Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, has been recommended by the President for consideration in the House, subject to time constraints,” Tankha said in a post on X.
Panun Kashmir rejects bill, calls it an attempt to subvert homeland demand
Meanwhile, Panun Kashmir, an organisation advocating the cause of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, rejected the bill, saying it subverts the issues of “genocide” and the demand for a homeland for the community in Kashmir. “We strongly reject the Kashmiri Pandits bill currently pending in the Rajya Sabha. The bill is an attempt to derail the discourse on genocide recognition and to deflect attention from the foundational demands of the displaced community of carving out a homeland for them in the Valley,” a joint statement issued by the organisation said.
