New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah's bill for the extension of President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir was passed in the Rajya Sabha today with support from Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal.
Mr Shah said the Centre has no option but to extend President's Rule for six months as the Election Commission intends to hold assembly polls there towards the end of the year.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since June 2018, when the BJP ended its alliance with Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party. Elections will be announced later this year, but before that President's Rule, which is applicable for six-month periods, has to be renewed.
In March -- weeks after the suicide attack in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers died - the Election Commission had ruled out holding the state election along with the national elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The state government, it said, had advised against it in view of the law and order situation.
Citing the security situation, the Commission held a three-phase election for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in Kashmir, creating history of sorts.
The announcement had angered the state's political parties, who alleged that the BJP government at the centre was not keen on initiating the democratic process in the state.
Last month, the commission indicated that it has received a green signal from the state government regarding elections.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019 proposes to give quota benefits in jobs and educational institutions to people living near the state's International Border.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the other bill tabled by Mr Shah, proposes to give quota benefits in jobs and educational institutions to people living near the state's International Border.