Shashi Tharoor regrets Parliament disruption that stalled bill on Kashmiri Pandits
Srinagar, Feb 7
Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday expressed regret that disruptions in Parliament prevented him from introducing a Private Member's Bill on the rights of Kashmiri Pandits, a proposal he first drafted and submitted in 2021.
Taking to X, Tharoor said the repeated adjournments deprived him of the opportunity to table the bill, despite it finally being listed after nearly five years.
"The disruption of Parliament yesterday deprived me of an opportunity to introduce a Private Member's Bill on the rights of Kashmiri Pandits, that I had first drafted and submitted in 2021," he wrote.
"It was then held in abeyance by the authorities for the rest of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha. I resubmitted it last year in the Eighteenth Lok Sabha, and it was finally listed, five years late, yesterday. Now it will have to wait some more."
The full text of the bill has not yet been made public, as Private Member's Bills are typically released only after formal introduction in the House.
Tharoor originally submitted the bill during the 17th Lok Sabha in 2021, but it was not taken up and lapsed with the dissolution of the House. He reintroduced the same bill in the 18th Lok Sabha, and in February 2026, it was finally listed for introduction before being stalled again due to repeated disruptions.
Tharoor's statements and media reports indicate that the bill seeks to address the legal rights of Kashmiri Pandits as a displaced community. It aims to formally recognise their forced exodus from the Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s as an ongoing rights issue requiring parliamentary intervention.
Tharoor has publicly expressed frustration over the repeated deferral of the bill, noting that despite waiting nearly five years, it remains stalled without being formally introduced.
Shashi Tharoor was married to a Kashmiri Pandit woman, Sunanda Pushkar. She was Shashi Tharoor's third wife. They were married in August 2010. The couple was at the centre of high-profile media attention following her mysterious death at a Delhi hotel in January 2014.
— IANS
Reader Comments
While I appreciate his efforts, it's frustrating that it took 5 years just to get listed. The system is broken. Why can't such important bills be fast-tracked? Every delay is an injustice to the community. 🇮🇳
Parliament disruptions have become a norm, and it's ordinary citizens who suffer. Whether it's this bill or others, work needs to get done. Our MPs are elected to legislate, not just shout and adjourn.
As an observer, I find it telling that a bill acknowledging a historical injustice gets stalled repeatedly. The recognition of the exodus is the first step towards healing and justice. This shouldn't be controversial.
With all due respect to Tharoor ji, his own party could have pushed for this when they were in power earlier. It feels like political point-scoring now. The issue is beyond parties - it's about doing what's right for a community that lost its homeland.
Heart goes out to the Kashmiri Pandit families. Their pain is our collective national shame. Hope this bill sees the light of day soon and brings some measure of closure and concrete support. 🙏
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