After almost 6 years, the initial meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly commenced amid much noise and disturbance. During the assembly on Monday, there was a commotion when People’s Democratic Party MLA Waheed Parra proposed against the revocation of Article 370 by the Center. In August 2019, it was reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s central government ended Article 370. This marked the end of the unique standing of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the division of the former state into 2 union territories.
During the initial session in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, a 7-time MLA and National Conference leader, was chosen as Speaker by unanimous vote. Parra mentioned that in 2019, he put forth a resolution on behalf of Parliament opposing the removal of special status and Article 370. He also announced a resolution. The action taken by the PDP MLA elicited a strong response from every single BJP MLA present in the House. BJP lawmakers vehemently objected to this and stated that it went against the rules.
The speaker instructed the BJP leaders to wait because they had not reviewed the document provided by the MLA yet. Nevertheless, the legislators caused chaos in the chamber while the speaker attempted to restore order. During the commotion, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stepped in and stated that the intention behind the motion was not only to attract attention. I was aware that certain members would propose the motion. We were not anticipating this happening during the initial day of the session.
Abdullah stated that a decision without significance cannot be made by a single esteemed member. A member with integrity cannot make a decision and it holds no significance. He stated that the outcome of this session will be determined by the governing party. He mentioned that certain individuals just desired to be in the spotlight on camera. He mentioned that if they were genuinely committed, they would have talked to us and determined the House’s voice.
The response of the chief minister caused dissatisfaction among three PDP MLAs and MLA Langate, Sheikh Khurshid. All three rose from their chairs in objection. The Speaker paused the House briefly before reconvening for the official speech by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The National Conference hinted that they would soon propose a motion against the revocation of Article 370. In a social media post, the NC stated that the PDP MLA made a clever attempt to halt the government’s motion introduction.
We expect everyone to back the proposal, and not put on a false front in front of others that could undermine the determination of those genuinely seeking to restore our constitutional rights, dignity, and identity protection.