Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday informed Parliament …
Shah made the announcement in the Rajya Sabha at 11am. He is expected to address the Lok Sabha later in the day.
The statement from Shah is the first major response from the Narendra Modi government to the rapid developments in the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir over the last two weeks. Shah attended a meeting of the Union cabinet earlier on Monday and also held extensive one-to-one discussions with Modi.
The security measures in Jammu and Kashmir had given rise to rumours that the Modi government was planning to revoke Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, which ensured special status to the state. There was also speculation the Modi government would trifurcate Jammu and Kashmir, with Jammu being made a 'full state', while Kashmir and Ladakh would be Union territories. A trifurcation move would effectively 'invalidate' Articles 370 and 35A, some experts had claimed.
The Modi government ordered the deployment of 35,000 additional paramilitary personnel in the past two weeks and, last weekend, asked Amarnath Yatris and tourists to leave Kashmir. On Sunday, deployment of Central security forces began across Kashmir, with the government also ordering suspension of internet and landline phone services.
The government also placed under house-arrest key political leaders in the state, including PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and even Sajjad Lone, who was perceived to be close to the BJP.
The security measures had invited criticism from political parties. PDP MPs had announced they would sport black armbands in Parliament to protest against the security crackdown in Jammu and Kashmir.
