Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 18: The Government would hold last session of the present 11th Assembly in August before going for the elections to constitute 12th Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir in November-December this year. Deadline for holding the Assembly session expires on September 4 and the Government has to hold the session before that date.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Government has decided to hold Assembly session in August after the completion of Amarnath yatra and Independence Day celebrations to meet the deadline of September 4. The last session of the presently Assembly would be brief but it would take up pending legislative business in which a day would be reserved for farewell speeches.
Sources said budget session of the State Assembly had adjourned sine die on March 4. According to Constitutional requirement, the State Assembly must meet at least once within a period of six months, which means the Government had to convene the Assembly session before September 4.
“As the holy month of Ramazan falls in July this year, the Government has decided to go for the Assembly session in August after completion of annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath ji on August 10 and Independence Day celebrations on August 15,’’ sources said, adding that it would be a brief session lasting eight to 10 days.
The Government would like to clear the pending legislative business in the final session including Kashmiri Hindus Shrines Bill apart from some other legislations including those belonging to private members. The Government has set up a Joint Select Committee on the Shrines Bill. The reports of House Committees including the one on discriminatory allotment of Sub Health Centres could also be taken up in the last session.
“We will try to clear as much legislative business as possible in last session of the 11th Assembly as the business, which couldn’t be taken up, would lapse,’’ sources said, adding that even if the Government had to extend the session by couple of days, it would do that to clear the pending business. However, they admitted, that it wouldn’t be possible for the Government to clear all pending private member’s bills in the last session.
The Assembly session in August would be last session of the Legislature as the Assembly elections were likely to be announced by the end of September and held in November-December after which 12th Assembly would be constituted.
The last session of the Assembly would be held with 83 elected members only plus two nominated women as four seats of the Assembly have fallen vacant. While three sitting MLAs have been elected to Lok Sabha including Jugal Kishore (BJP), Mehbooba Mufti and Muzaffar Hussain Baig (both PDP), Congress Legislature Party leader Choudhary Aslam died a day before.
Jugal represented Nagrota in the present Assembly, Ms Mufti (Wachi), Baig (Baramulla) and Aslam (Surankote). The strength of the Assembly has been reduced to 83 plus two nominated women.
The Assembly has 87 elected members while two women are nominated as MLAs by the Government.
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