New Delhi, Dec 6 (KNS) : Displaced Kashmiri Pandits have expressed deep disappointment after the Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2022—drafted and moved by Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha—was not taken up for discussion in the Upper House on December 5, despite being listed as the first item on the agenda.

In a statement, the community said they had placed high hopes on the Bill, which seeks to address long-pending concerns of displaced Kashmiri Pandits. “We deeply appreciate the sincere efforts of MP Vivek Tankha in drafting and pushing this important legislation. We were eagerly waiting for it to be discussed so that our humanitarian issues could finally be addressed,” the statement read.

Ravinder Pandita, President of AIKS, who was present in the public gallery during the proceedings, said the community felt let down. “I witnessed the proceedings yesterday, only to be disappointed. Even the Shankaracharyas had extended their blessings through a public statement,” he noted.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

The displaced community reiterated that they have been without a permanent home for the last 36 years, and urged the Government of India to urgently address their long-standing demands for recourse, restitution, rehabilitation, and resettlement.

They also recalled that it has been 17 years since the Parliamentary Committee report headed by the late Sushma Swaraj was submitted, yet its recommendations remain unimplemented. The community said they understand that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is now forwarding a recommendation on the matter to the Union Home Ministry, raising hope that the issue may be taken up in the Rajya Sabha again.

Reaffirming their appeal, the community urged the government to help them reclaim their ethnic roots, which they said have contributed richly to India’s cultural and philosophical heritage for millennia.(KNS)