The Rajya Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill on Monday, paving way for merging the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre of civil services with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

Placing the Bill for discussion, Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said the Bill provides uniformity in governance of all the Union Territories. He said it will enhance the efficiency of administration of Jammu and Kashmir.

Initiating the debate on the Bill, former Chief Minister of the State and Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad asked the government to annul the abrogation of Article 370 that provided an autonomous status for the State.

“I want to ask Home Minister Amit Shah if the present cadre was working well, then what was the need to merge it? You had promised that the statehood will be restored... But bringing this bill creates suspicion that the Centre wants to keep J&K permanently a Union Territory,” he said.

Reddy claimed, in his reply, that speedy development is taking place in Jammu and Kashmir in the past two years, when compared to the past 70 years. “Both the Centre and the J&K Government are trying to develop the region and will do more. Due to coronavirus, we could not reach the set target,” Reddy said.

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