Srinagar – Losing his cool in the assembly, the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, on Wednesday came down heavily on BJP and Panthers Party members, accusing them of playing politics over SC/ST quotas in high posts.
Where were you when similar issues were being discussed for panchayat leaders? Abdullah retorted when BJP and Panthers Party MLAs nearly stormed the well of the house.
The members had been chanting no violation of constitution will be allowed and other slogans amid assembly proceedings to demand reservations for scheduled castes and tribes and women in the three-tier local self-government system.
Panthers Party MLA Harsh Dev Singh had demanded 12 out of 143 chairmans posts to be reserved for these categories.
Reacting angrily to the members demands, the chief minister termed their agitation an antics and said that they were playing politics over the issue of reservations.
These people remained ssilent were quotas were announced for panches and not for sarpanches, he said. They feared that this would impinge on their powers.
If you have to stage your theatrics, go and do it outside the assembly, he said.
PP members walked out amid a heated exchange between Abdullah and Singh when the Congress admitted that the House had been silent when sarpanches were excluded out of the quota basket.
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