New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir would be granted statehood at an "appropriate" time after normalcy is restored there, the government told Parliament on Wednesday.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stated this in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. He was replying to a question on whether the government had any proposal to "reinstate" the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and whether some efforts have been made to end the year-long ban on different means of communication.
"Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would be granted at an appropriate time after normalcy is restored in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
"In view of the constitutional changes and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of the Jammu and Kashmir into Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh, in national interest and also in
the interest of security of J&K, temporary restrictions on various communication channels like internet and mobile services were resorted to in Jammu and Kashmir," the minister stated.
Subsequently, the matter "was reviewed from time to time and restrictions imposed were gradually eased out in a phased manner and 4G internet data services were restored in the entire Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir from February 5, he said.
The Centre had revoked the special status of the erstwhile state that was provided to it under Article 370 and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019.
Meanwhile, the number of incidents of terrorist violence has come down in Jammu and Kashmir in the last two years, the government informed Parliament
on Wednesday.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said, "The number of terrorist incidents has reduced during 2020 by 59 per cent as compared to 2019 and 32 per cent up to June, 2021 in comparison with the corresponding period up to June, 2020."
The question was put to the home ministry seeking details of the law-and-order situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the steps taken by it to improve the scenario. Shops and business establishments, public transport, government offices, educational and health institutions etc. are functioning normally in UT of Jammu and Kashmir.agencies