Uproar in J&K Assembly as BJP protests over public issues on first day of Autumn Session

A major uproar was witnessed in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on the first day of the autumn session in Srinagar today, as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators staged a protest inside the House over a range of issues.

Led by Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, BJP MLAs entered the Well of the House carrying Placards and raising slogans over what they described as the government’s failure to address key public concerns. The protesting legislators demanded the regularisation of daily-wage workers, an increase in the honorarium of National Health Mission employees, and the withdrawal of the recent electricity tariff hike.

The BJP members also raised issues concerning unemployment, the service conditions of temporary and contractual workers, and gaps in essential public services. The disruption occurred while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was responding to legislative questions during Zero Hour. The protests led to a commotion in the House, temporarily disrupting the proceedings.

The BJP has continued to press the government on issues concerning employees, electricity tariffs, unemployment and the regularisation of temporary workers during the ongoing Assembly session.

''The Bharatiya Janata Party has been given the mandate to be the Opposition, and whenever governments fail—whenever governments fail to address the people’s issues and fail to deliver—then the primary duty of the Opposition is to become the voice of the poor and hold the government accountable.And in this context, on the first day of the autumn session today, the Bharatiya Janata Party demanded answers from the government. We became the voice of those sections of society who are on the streets today, who are waiting for governance, and whose expectations of governance have been disappointed on every front, '' said Sunil Sharma, LoP BJP.

The PDP, however, said that the BJP was effectively bailing out the National Conference by creating a ruckus in the Assembly and wasting the House’s time.

''The youth of Jammu and Kashmir had, for the first time, placed their hopes in this House. Again and again, the National Conference and the BJP are helping each other and bailing each other out, wasting the time of this House, the time of the people, and the time of the youth. Today, after one year, we thought that perhaps the people’s issues would finally be raised. For the past one-year, daily wagers have been protesting on the streets. You have also been seeing that every department is protesting here. NHM employees have been protesting for six months. Medical students and our interns are protesting. Students at the Agricultural University are protesting.

There are protests by people from many different departments. Many young people are still facing cases; they have to keep going to court, and even today, some of our young people are in jails outside Jammu and Kashmir. So, we do not have the opportunity to waste even a single second of this Assembly, even if this is the weakest Assembly. It is still important that the issues of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are raised in this Assembly.'' said Wahid Parra, PDP MLA.

The National Conference, however, said that the BJP had ten questions listed for today’s session, all of which could have been taken up during Question Hour. Instead, it alleged, the BJP chose to protest in the Well, calling it an attempt at mere media optics.

''I believe that this autumn session is very important because it provides an opportunity to raise the concerns of the people. When I checked the rules and today’s business, there were ten BJP members whose questions were listed and were due to be taken up. Unfortunately, they created a ruckus merely for media optics. If they had an issue, the government was ready to discuss it, and the government was ready to provide answers. But creating a ruckus in the Assembly is not good for democracy, nor is it good for the electorate that sent these BJP members to the House.We have said all along that whatever delays have occurred are largely because of the restoration of statehood. The powers that come with a full-fledged state allow decisions to be taken immediately. Unfortunately, because statehood has not yet been restored, many things remain pending, and that is what we are working on, '' said Tanvir Sadiq, MLA, NC.

The 10-day session, comprising seven sittings and concluding on September 30, opened with obituary references to former ministers Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Dharam Paul and Ghulam Hassan Khan.