Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 12: Almost entire Opposition including PDP, BJP, NPP and JSM staged walk-out in the Legislative Assembly during and after Question Hour today in support of their demand for creation of more administrative units in the left out areas as the PDP took the matter to the Governor House seeking intervention of Governor NN Vohra to restore dignity of the Legislature and uphold supremacy of Constitution and law.
After the walk-out, the PDP abstained from the House for the day including reply of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Motion of Thanks to Governor’s Address while other Opposition parties took part in the debate and the reply.
There was no let up in the uproar during entire Question Hour with the PDP members leaving their benches and grappling with the Marshals trying to troop into Well of the House carrying placards and shouting slogans in support of their demands for creation of more administrative units in the left out areas.
The protests by the PDP near the Well of the House even prompted Speaker Mubarak Gul to name five PDP MLAs including Javed Mustafa Mir, Zulfikar Choudhary, Mansoor Shah, Basharat Bukhari and Syed Bashir as a last warning to them before their suspension from the House.
As soon as the House resumed its sitting for the day at 10 am, all PDP MLAs moved towards the front row and threw a table to try to reach to the Well of the House. However, today, the Marshals of the Assembly had laid a complete cordon to prevent the Opposition MLAs from reaching to the benches and chairs of the Assembly’s reporters and podium of the Speaker.
PDP MLA Peer Mansoor Shah, who claimed that his Assembly segment Shangus was the only constituency, where not even a single administrative unit has been recommended, carrying a large placard tried to break the cordon of the Marshals along with other PDP MLAs including Mr Bukhari, Javed Mir, Mr Bashir, Zulfikar Choudhary and Nizam-ud-Din Bhat but were unable to do so.
They continued massive sloganeering like `Hamari Mangein Poori Karo (fulfill our demands)’ and `Sabke Saath Insaaf Karo (do justice to all)” even as the Speaker went ahead with the Question Hour and asked the members against whose names today’s Questions had been listed to raise them. Barring the PDP and absent MLAs, all other members raised their questions and supplementaries to them, which the Ministers replied. However, most of the times, the replies given by the Ministers were lost in the din created by the agitating PDP MLAs.
After few minutes, all BJP, NPP and JSM MLAs were also on their feet shouting slogans seeking creation of administrative units in their areas.
Like yesterday, Deputy Speaker and PDP leader Sartaj Madni and PDP Legislature Party leaders continued to stand on their seats carrying placards for creation of more administrative units in the left out areas. PDP Deputy Leader Abdul Rehman Veeri, who was protesting from his seat yesterday, today tried to reach into the Well of the House from middle of the House but didn’t succeed as entire areas leading to the Well of the House had been sealed by the Marshals.
The PDP MLAs unable to reach to the benches and the Well started lifting one MLA on their shoulders to shout loudly. First, it was Zulfikar Choudhary, then Nizam Bhat and Mansoor Shah.
As the PDP MLAs shouted `Zulm Say Chahiye Azadi’, JSM MLA Ashwani Sharma, BJP’s Durga Dass and all BJP MLAs started shouting `Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, `Vande Mataram’ and `Hum Kaya Chahte-Insaaf’ loudly.
Ashwani Sharma utilised the occasion to raise the voice for statehood to Jammu shouting “Jammu Ko Separate State Do”. He said Jammu would get justice only when it was granted statehood.
Mr Gul made repeated appeals to the protesting MLAs to take their seats and assured them that he would allow them to speak after the Question Hour but it had no impact on the Opposition legislators. He asked the MLAs to raise the slogans during elections.
MLA Basohli Jagdish Raj Sapolia, who had not been taken back into the BJP after suspension, however, joined the BJP MLAs in the protest and shouted `Basohli, Bani, Billawar Ko Ek District Do’ while PDP MLAs chanted `Uncovered Areas Ko Include Karo, Include Karo’, `Muzloomon Kay Saath Insaaf Karo, Insaaf Karo’ and `Sadkon Pay Baithe Logon Se Insaaf Karo, Insaaf Karo’.
The protesting PDP MLAs also staged a dharna for few minutes near the Well of the House.
Every time, the PDP MLAs grappled with the Marshals to force their entry into the Well of the House, the Marshals pushed them back.
All BJP MLAs joined by Mr Sapolia, JSM legislator Ashwani Sharma and all three NPP MLAs-Harshdev Singh, Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yashpal Kundal staged a walk-out at 10.35 am. BJP state president Jugal Kishore and Gharu Ram continued shouting before staging walk-out of the House.
Harshdev Singh and Yashpal Kundal also indulged in massive sloganeering seeking creation of more administrative units before staging walk-out of the House. Mr Mankotia shouted demanding setting up of Delimitation Commission before walking out of the House. He reminded the Congress leaders of their election promise of Delimitation Commission and wanted it to be fulfilled.
Hakim Yasin Mohammad, who had floated new front with MY Tarigami, continued silent protest from his seat but didn’t indulge in sloganeering.
Several PDP MLAs including Mansoor Shah and Javed Mustafa Mir tore off papers while standing atop their seat.
Mr Gul again made a fervent appeal to the protesting legislators of the PDP to take their seats saying he had yesterday sent their all papers to the Chief Minister for consideration. He assured the legislators that he would allow them to speak after the Question Hour, which they should allow to run.
As his fresh appeal also had no impact on the PDP legislators, who shouted slogans at their peak, the Speaker named five PDP MLAs including Javed Mir, Zulfikar Choudhary, Peer Mansoor Shah, Basharat Bukhari and Syed Bashir saying he was giving them last warning and will suspend them.
This further provoked the PDP MLAs, who made all out efforts to break the Marshals’ cordon and troop into the Well shouting slogans. Some of the MLAs flung papers in the air while Syed Bashir had heated arguments first with a Marshal and then with NC MLA and former Minister Surjit Singh Slathia.
Mr Slathia and Mr Bashir had heated arguments for a couple of minutes during which Mr Slathia was also seen thumping the table.
As the Question House was over at 11 am, the PDP MLAs initially took their seats.
Mr Gul told them that he had handed over their (the PDP MLAs’) all documents to the Chief Ministers on creation of new units.
“I acted in one day. Now, you should give the Government some time. In just a day, the Government can’t give all tehsils, units etc. The Government will consider the demands and reply,” he said.
Mr Veeri said this is for the first time that entire Opposition has been agitating on just one issue of creation of new administrative units but there has been no response from the Government, which was taking the issue very casually as to nothing has happened.
“The Government is not even reacting. The Chief Minister has not come to the House to respond. We too want the House to run but the Government should address our issues,” he added.
Another PDP MLA Mansoor Shah noted that his Assembly segment Shangus has not been given a single unit. “Shouldn’t I raise the demand”? he asked.
PDP MLA and former Minister Nasir Aslam Wani charged the previous Government with never doing justice during their regime.
Mr Wani had heated exchanged with PDP MLAs. He described the decision on new units as “historic”.
At 11.08 am, all PDP MLAs led by Mehbooba Mufti staged a walk-out in the House and didn’t return for the entire day. PDP MLA Dr Shaffi Wani had heated exchanges with treasury benches before staging walk-out of the House but he was whisked away by Nizam Bhat.
The PDP MLAs led by Ms Mufti later went to Raj Bhawan and submitted a memorandum to Governor NN Vohra seeking his intervention in the creation of new administrative units saying the Government was not ready to listen to them.
The memorandum said: “the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature is in session. On the first day of business of the two Houses the PDP members taking cognizance of protesting people of Jammu and Kashmir on having been neglected in the recent expansion of Administrative Network presented a list of demands to the Speaker for response from the Government.
“We had to press the demand hard against the resistance of the Government. During the process one of our Members was inflicted an injury and the House was adjourned. Today also in larger public interest we reiterated our demand and raised it on the floor of both the Houses for proper response from the Government. However the Presiding Officers were unmoved and Government was callously apathetic.
“Since our voice is being muzzled, public interest is ignored and we are deprived of our right to represent. It is under this compulsion that we have been compelled to walk to Raj Bhawan and seek you intervention so that justice is done and the areas that have been left out in the arbitrary distribution of Administrative Units in the State are also given their due. We take this opportunity also to seek your intervention to restore the dignity of the Legislature and uphold the Supremacy of Constitution and Law”.
Mr Mufti earlier told reporters in the Assembly that the PDP was protesting for the last two days but nobody in the Government is ready to listen them.
She said people across the State are on roads and protesting for their rights but the Government is paying no attention to their demands.
Ms Mufti also criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for not attending the House proceedings.
“The Chief Minister is busy on ‘tweeting’ than paying attention to the people’s problems,” she said adding that he must attend the session and listen to the grievances and address them.
Terming the Omar-led coalition Government as a Government of scams and scandals, Ms Mufti said, “this Government has nothing to count in achievements than scams and scandals.”
“JKCA Scam, Drug Scam, Haji Yousuf death, Shabir Khan molestation case and many others are there, of which the Government is loaded with”, she alleged. She, however, said they want Governor to intervene as early as possible to resolve the matter and do justice to the people.
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