Censorship
Will verify statements of JK LG in media about restoration of 4G, GoI tells SC
Srinagar: The Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, senior lawyer appearing for the Government of India on Tuesday, submitted to the Apex Court bench, headed by Justice N V Ramana, that it will verify the reported statements of J&K LG in the media that 4G should be restored.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration said that it will examine and file a rejoinder. The next hearing date is August 07, Friday.
On July 26, three days after the Central government of India announced “no relaxation in high-speed Internet” in Jammu and Kashmir, the erstwhile state administration has told the Ministry of Home Affairs India that it did not have any objection in restoring the high-speed (4G) Internet services in the region.
“We have been making representation for this… I feel that 4G will not be a problem. I am not afraid how people will use this. Pakistan will do its propaganda, whether it is 2G or 4G. It will always be there… But I don’t see an issue,” Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu told The Sunday Express.
On July 23, the Home Ministry of India had said that People of Jammu and Kashmir will not be getting the high-speed (4G) Internet services anytime soon.
On May 21, BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav had pitched for restoring high-speed 4G internet in Jammu and Kashmir to pay the people for not “pelting stones and shouting Azadi”.
He said the Constitution allows for the administrative handling of units for some duration under special circumstances.
High speed Internet has been shut down in Kashmir since August 5, 2019, when Government of India unanimously abrogated Article 370 that granted the region Autonomy, as per the conditions of the Accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India.
The move was made while all communication was blacked out, political leadership jailed, and curfew imposed in the region.
Following the abrogation, Jammu and Kashmir was turned into a union territory, governed directly by New Delhi though a selected local administration. Since then, the Government of India has changed many laws, including those that protected indigenous Kashmiris’ land rights.
As the removal of Article 370, ended the prohibition of outsiders to own land, the Domicile law, was introduced to grant citizenship of Jammu and Kashmir to outsiders, triggering a fear of Demographic change in the region. Since then, thousands of outsiders have been given the domicile certificates, including ex Indian Army personnel.
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