Refugees from West Pakistan, PoK given domicile certificates in J-K: Amit Shah

New Delhi [India], February 13 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said refugees from West Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have been provided domicile certificates in Jammu and Kashmir.
Replying to a discussion on Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill of 2021 in Lok Sabha, Shah said the Opposition is asking what the NDA Government has done for Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 and asked what ruling parties in Jammu and Kashmir could do in the last 70 years.
"Pakistan, West Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir refugees along with 2642 Valmiki families, 592 Gurkhas and 43 other families have been provided domicile certificates," he said.
The House later passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha.
He said the government has ended injustice that people faced over the years and alleged that ruling parties of Jammu and Kashmir had practised "vote bank" politics.
"Are human rights available for some people, not for the refugees who came here from Pakistan or Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to run away? Not for Sufi saints? And not for the Valmikis who have been not provided voting rights over the last 70 years," Shah said.
"Why you (previous governments) have no feeling for them? Because they were not your vote bank, you see human rights in terms of vote bank, but we (BJP) see human rights as it is, without any fear, you (previous governments) have no courage," Shah added.
He said around 25,000 government jobs will be provided in Jammu and Kashmir by 2022.
He said government land in Jammu and Kashmir will be used for development work in Jammu and Kashmir and assured people that no one will lose their land.
The bill seeks to merge the Jammu and Kashmir cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers with that of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory (AGMUT).