Home Minister Amit Shah asserted in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that both Aksai Chin and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) fall within Jammu and Kashmir, declaring that “we are ready to give our lives for it”. The Congress sharply criticised the Centre’s move to repeal Article 370.

Shah’s statements

Moving the resolution to revoke provisions of Article 370 together with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, the Home Minister said Kashmir was undoubtedly an integral part of India and that his reference to Jammu and Kashmir included both PoK and Aksai Chin. He said Ladakh, including Aksai Chin, would become a union territory, meeting a long-standing demand, and that both hill councils would continue to function. China currently occupies Aksai Chin, which lies in Ladakh.

Shah said the President had signed a Constitution Order 2019 the previous day applying all provisions of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir, which meant Article 35A had been removed. He said the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir would have its own assembly, with MLAs and a chief minister, insisted the measures were legally and constitutionally sound, and predicted the bill would be remembered as historic.

Congress objections

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who leads the Congress in the House, challenged the legality of the bills, pointing to UN monitoring since 1948, the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, and asking whether the matter was bilateral or internal. His remarks drew protests from the treasury benches, and he later said he was seeking clarification. When opposition members asked why Shah was so aggressive, he replied that it was because they believed PoK was not part of India.

Congress leader Manish Tewari called the move a “constitutional travesty”, arguing that a state’s boundaries should not be changed without its legislature’s approval and that this was perhaps the first time a state had been reduced to a union territory. Tewari also credited Jawaharlal Nehru for Jammu and Kashmir, Junagadh and Hyderabad being part of India, which Shah said discredited Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution.

DMK members TR Baalu and Dayanidhi Maran raised questions over the absence of National Conference member Farooq Abdullah from the House.

Background

On Monday, the Rajya Sabha approved both the resolution and the reorganisation bill, fulfilling a BJP electoral promise less than 90 days after the second Modi government took office.

What happened next

Parliament ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 on 5-6 August 2019, and the state was reorganised into two union territories.

Originally published on 6 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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