On Tuesday (February 22), the Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh shared a snippet from a 2019 speech in the Lok Sabha to commemorate the historic Parliamentary resolution on Jammu and Kashmir that was adopted on February 22, 1994. The development coincides with the recent decision of the Russian government to identify rebel-held territories in Ukraine as independent nations.
While speaking in the Lower House of Parliament, the BJP lawmaker had said, “There are no two opinions about the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. This Parliament had passed a resolution about the same in 1994. It was done by the government of PV Narasimha Rao and we had supported it then. The only dispute that exists is how and when we can retrieve the other part of Kashmir that continues to remain under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.”
He had emphasised, “We are often accused of deteriorating the condition of Jammu and Kashmir after we came to power in 2014. We formed the government with PDP in 2015. You (Congress) have ruled over the Union territory for 50-60 years. Did you leave behind a ‘Ram Rajya’ that we have somehow destroyed after coming to power?”
VIDEO: Sankalp Divas commemorating 22 Feb 1994 Parliament Resolution on #PoJK:
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) February 22, 2022
Throwback! Reiterating that the only unresolved issue between India and Pakistan is to retrieve back the illegally occupied part of #JammuAndKashmir. pic.twitter.com/nmFoLsOZXB
“What you handed us was a legacy of a series of blunders committed in the Union territory, starting from the infamous Nehruvian blunder. If only the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru would have allowed his Home Minister Sardar Patel to handle Jammu and Kashmir as he did with other princely States, then, the future of the Union territory would have been different,” he concluded.
The Parliamentary resolution of February 22, 1994, reads, “On behalf of the People of India, this House firmly declares that the State of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall be an integral part of India and any attempts to separate it from the rest of the country will be resisted by all necessary means.”
Russia recognises the independence of rebel-held territories in Ukraine
In an unprecedented move on Monday (February 21), Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that his government will recognise the independence of rebel-held territories in Eastern Ukraine. The pro-Russian rebels are backed by the Russian government and have been fighting Ukraine’s military for the past 8 years.
As such, Russia has declared that parts of Ukraine i.e. Donetsk and Luhansk as independent people’s republics. Putin had also ordered Russian troops to enter the ‘newly independent territories’ for peacekeeping functions. The move was condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said, “We are not afraid…will not give anything away to anyone.”
Meanwhile, the West had expressed fears of Russia officially invading the eastern part of Ukraine. US President Joe Biden signed an executive order outlawing new investments by Americans in the newly ‘independent’ territories. The White House has made it clear that the sanctions would increase if Russia further invaded Ukraine.
“It’s unacceptable, it’s unprovoked, it’s unwarranted … some suggestion that they are peacekeeping is nonsense,” remarked Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the Russian move was in violation of international law and undermined the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine.
There are as many as 100,000 Russian armed forces troops stationed at the Ukrainian border. The United States and NATO have called the military moment around the border unusual. US President and European leaders have repeatedly warned Russia against the possible invasion of Ukraine. In December, US intelligence reported Russia might begin a military offensive in Ukraine in early 2022.
