J&K Official Languages Bill 2020 Violates Federalism: JKPM
Srinagar, September 25: J&K Peoples Movement (JKPM) has termed the J&K Official Languages Bill 2020 violates the federal structure of the Constitution. In a press statement, JKPM Senior Vice President Advocate Syed Iqbal Tahir has said that the said bill has encroached upon the powers of J&K Legislative Assembly as the decision to adopt the official languages vests in the J&K Legislative Assembly.
“Section 47 of the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 empowers the legislative assembly of J&K to adopt one or more languages as the official languages. Bypassing the J&K Official Languages Bill, the parliament has encroached upon the powers of the legislative assembly. The government is behaving in an authoritarian manner and pre-empting whatever decision the future J&K Legislative Assembly may have taken”, Iqbal Tahir said in his statement.
Iqbal Tahir also expressed surprise over the haste with which the Government got the bill passed in the parliament. He questioned that while the State Reorganization Act is subject to challenge before the honourable Supreme Court and the Supreme Court us yet to give its judgment, why the Government is anticipating the decisions of the Supreme Court by enacting such a law?.
Iqbal Tahir further submitted that under the sixth schedule of the constitution of the erstwhile state of J&K, Kashmiri, Dogri, Balti (Pali), Dardi, Punjabi, Pahari, Ladakhi and Gojri were regional languages of the state. By excluding Pahari and Punjabi languages, the bill has hit the interests of Pahari, Gojri and Punjabi community of J&K.
