Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 1: Facing stormy autumn session of the Legislature beginning October 3 in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has called joint meeting of the PDP-BJP legislators at his official residence at dinner tomorrow to chalk out the Alliance strategy to face the Opposition collectively even as the main opposition parties including National Conference and Congress have geared up to corner the Government on host of issues.
The BJP and National Conference tonight held their separate Legislature party meetings to finalize party strategy for the brief session, which will last till October 10. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting will be held tomorrow.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Chief Minister has convened joint meeting of the PDP-BJP legislators at his official residence in Srinagar tomorrow over dinner to give final touch to the Alliance strategy to face the Opposition, which was planning to rake up certain controversial issues to corner the PDP and BJP coalition partners.
Before PDP-BJP joint Legislature Party meeting, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti will hold separate meeting of the party legislators.
“The PDP and BJP legislators will put up joint front in both Houses of the Legislature notwithstanding the fact that both the Alliance partners have divergent stand on some of the controversial issues including beef ban and Service Tax on air borne pilgrims of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi ji shrine. The Alliance legislators would show up in a way that their differences were not exposed inside any of the two Houses,’’ sources said.
Pointing out that a strategy has been put in place to avoid controversial issues inside the House, sources said the rejection of the private member’s Resolutions of two BJP MLAs—Ravinder Raina and Rajiv Jasrotia seeking death penalty for sale of beef by Speaker Kavinder Gupta yesterday was clearly an indication that the Alliance wants to avoid all controversial issues.
The Alliance has also drafted its strategy and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh will brief the legislators tomorrow on three separate private member’s bills moved by NC, CPM and an Independent MLA on the beef ban. NC MLAs Mohammad Akbar Lone, Ali Mohammad Sagar and Mian Altaf, CPM MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and Independent MLA Engineer Rashid have given the bill seeking abrogation of the Constitutional provisions that impose ban on beef.
Sources said the PDP and BJP leaders have already briefed their legislators (both MLAs and MLCs) to avoid all controversial issues of any kind in both the Houses Legislative Assembly and Council as Opposition parties—National Conference and Congress—want to see the PDP and BJP legislators divided on certain issues in both the Houses. However, they added, the two Alliance partners were in no mood to oblige the Opposition parties and give them a chance to rake up their differences.
Admitting that the two coalition partners (PDP and BJP), who have cobbled up the Alliance Government for first time in history of the State, did have differences on some issues, which the National Conference and Congress proposed to raise during the Legislature session, sources said the coalition partners have worked out strategy to keep the controversies at bay.
Meanwhile, the BJP legislators met under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh at his official residence here tonight over dinner and finalized the party’s strategy for the Legislature session. Dr Singh gave detailed briefing to the party’s Ministers, MLAs and MLCs on the issues that could come up during the Legislature session and asked them not to overreact and stay calm.
Dr Singh stressed that the BJP and PDP legislators shouldn’t give any chance to the Opposition parties to corner them and instead should expose them on floor of the House for doing nothing during their past six years of dispensation. He said the Ministers should be fully prepared with their replies during the Question Hour.
However, the BJP will give final touch to its strategy after joint meeting with the PDP tomorrow night over the dinner with the Chief Minister. PDP and BJP together have the support of about 60 MLAs in the Assembly, which has total 89 members (87 elected plus two nominated). In Upper House also, the Alliance has majority.
The National Conference legislators also met tonight over dinner at the official residence of party president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah to finalize party’s strategy in both Houses of the Legislature.
Sources said the National Conference has decided to go offensive against the PDP-BJP Government in both Houses of the Legislature and directed the party MLAs and MLCs to raise the issues of public interest.
The Congress Legislature Party is meeting in Srinagar tomorrow for the Legislature session strategy. CLP leader Rigzin Jora has already announced that he will not be able to attend full session due to his pre-occupation with the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh elections. He has designated Aijaz Ahmad Khan, Congress MLA from Gool as the officiating CLP leader.
The NC and Congress were expected to have understanding on some issues in both the Houses, sources said.
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