Jammu- Uproar over the demand by non-BJP parties for a discussion on the new Waqf Act paralysed proceedings for the third consecutive day in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Addressing the members in the House, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather defended his action of disallowing the adjournment motion by National Conference (NC) members and its alliance partners on the Waqf issue.
He also did not admit a notice for a no-confidence motion moved against him by three opposition members led by Peoples Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone, citing business rules and technicalities.
“The last three days witnessed uproar and the reason was the Waqf amendment law. A majority of the members expressed their resentment against it… I examined the rule book and disallowed the adjournment motions to discuss the issue,” the Speaker said.
Pointing to the protesting members, he said that speeches do not make any difference but “your argument that your concerns should be recorded has already been done”.
“You vociferously raised the issue in the House and the message has reached the people,” he said.
As the presiding officer of the House, Rather said, he had fulfilled his responsibility in accordance with the rule book. “I am not a dictator and I respect your sentiments,” he said.
Rather spoke unhindered for more than 15 minutes for the first time in the past three days as the House had been rocked by protests from treasury and opposition members who were demanding a discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
Earlier when the House met this morning, the NC members started demanding a discussion on the Waqf Act. The BJP members also walked into the Well demanding that they be allowed to raise issues like unemployment. Amid the pandemonium, the Speaker adjourned the house till 1 pm.
The protests started again as the House reassembled and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik, who was involved in a clash with BJP legislators and some PDP workers outside the House during the three-hour adjournment, tried in vain to raise the issue.
The Assembly witnessed back-to-back full-day adjournments for the last two days on the Waqf issue after the Speaker refused to allow a discussion on the Waqf issue, contending that the matter was sub judice.
On the no-confidence motion moved against him, the speaker said he had examined the notice with all seriousness and also made necessary corrections to the draft.
“As per rules, 23 members should be in favour of this motion, then only a Speaker can admit it. Another important point is that the notice should have been given 14 days before but this notice was only served yesterday (Tuesday). The House is being adjourned sine die so it cannot be admitted,” he said.
However, he assured the House that he would only hold the chair as long as the members had their confidence in him. “If I feel the members have no confidence, I will leave the chair without considering the rules.” On Wednesday, the NC members once again trooped into the well to demand suspension of business to discuss the Waqf Amendment act, while BJP’s Balwant Singh Mankotia moved an adjournment motion to discuss the problem of unemployment.
However, the Speaker disallowed the motion saying it is not a recent occurrence and took up scheduled business. He asked BJP member Sunil Bhardwaj to ask his question despite uproarious scenes including slogan shouting from treasury and opposition benches in support of discussion on Waqf and the unemployment issues.
NC legislator Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi pleaded with the Speaker to allow a 30-minute discussion using his discretionary powers so that the House could function smoothly. “This (Waqf Amendment act) is injustice to Muslims and the BJP, which is doing its politics on Hindu-Muslim affairs, is enacting a drama in the House by raising the issue of unemployment.
“They were in power for the last 10 years and they should inform the House about the number of those who have been provided employment by them,” Gurezi said.
Gurezi accused the BJP of destroying the region and snatching the rights of the people over land and jobs.The BJP members led by Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma walked into the well amid sloganeering by legislators from both sides. Some of them also staged a sit-in. Amid the uproar, the Speaker adjourned the house till 1 pm.
In the morning, the NC legislators and their alliance partners met in the assembly complex in a bid to end the logjam but the meeting — second within 17 hours — failed to bring order in the House.
Budget Session Adjourned Sine Die
Earlier Speaker of the J&K Legislative Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the House sine die.
The 21 days assembly session commenced on 3rd March with LG’s address and culminated today on 9th April 2025 afternoon.
According to the revised calendar, Wednesday was the last day of the Budget Session.
The Speaker lauded the contribution of the members in the smooth conduct of the 21-day-long budget session and said it was the second longest in the country this year. A total of 1,355 questions were received; 154 main questions were taken up during this session while their 353 supplementary queries were answered, he said, adding 1,738 Cut Motions were also received and 1,731 were taken up for the discussions.
Rather said three Government Bills were received and subsequently passed by the House while 33 Private Members’ Bills were also received and listed for the business.
The Speaker informed the house that 78 Calling Attention Motions were received by the Assembly Secretariat, out of which 23 were listed for the business and 34 were disallowed.
He also informed that 109 resolutions were received during the session, out of which 85 were admitted and 14 were listed for business. The Speaker said more than 39 hours were utilized during the Budget Session.
Rather spoke unhindered for more than 15 minutes for the first time in the past three days as the House had been rocked by protests from treasury and opposition members who were demanding a discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
He thanked all the Assembly Members for their cooperation for smooth conduct of the Assembly proceedings. He also thanked the Information Department, Assembly Secretariat, Health Department, Radio, Doordarshan, J&K Police, Media and other stakeholders for support during the Budget Session.
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