NEW DELHI - India’s ruling BJP revokes special status of Occupied Kashmir under Indian constitution
India's ruling party on Monday introduced a measure in parliament to revoke the special constitutional status of occupied Kashmir.
If the special status is repealed, people from the rest of India would have the right to acquire property in occupied Kashmir and settle there permanently. Kashmiris fear this would lead to a demographic transformation of region from majority Muslim to majority Hindu.
As parliament debated the move, Indian media reported that the government has moved 8,000 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from different parts of the country to IoK.
The move by India's Hindu nationalist-led government, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to revoke the special constitutional status, which allows only residents to buy property and hold state government jobs, is the most far-reaching move on the disputed Himalayan region in nearly seven decades.
Chaos erupted in the upper house of the Indian parliament as opposition lawmakers shouted slogans and started protesting after Home Minister Amit Shah urged members to discuss the legislation that seeks to end the autonomous status for Muslim-majority Kashmir.