Srinagar: The issue of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood emerged on the first day of the autumn session of the Union Territory Assembly on Monday, as the ruling alliance pressed for its immediate restoration.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather opened the session by paying tribute to late National Conference leader Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, late Congress leader Dharam Paul, and late PDP leader Ghulam Hassan Khan.
Sheikh Mustafa Kamal served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for three terms, while Dharam Paul served four terms, and Ghulam Hassan Khan was an MLA for one term.
These three leaders passed away between the previous session of the assembly and the current session.
The house observed a two-minute silence to pay respect for the departed souls.
After the assembly observed obituary references for three late ministers, the opposition BJP targeted the government by raising slogans on various public issues.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather urged BJP MLAs to take their seats to proceed with the legislative agenda. However, the BJP members, holding placards, persisted with their slogans, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Amidst the din, members of the ruling alliance, which includes the National Conference (NC), Congress, and CPI(M), stood to demand the immediate restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
CPI(M)’s Kulgam MLA, M Y Tarigami, called on BJP members to also chant for the reestablishment of statehood, stating, “Two years have passed, but the promise of statehood has not been fulfilled.”
Senior NC leader and MLA from Khanyar, Ali Mohammad Sagar, led the treasury benches in chanting for the restoration of statehood, while also raising slogans against the BJP.
In response, Speaker Rather called on the BJP MLAs to return to their seats and warned that action would be taken against them. “Gunda gardi nahi chalegi” (hooliganism will not be tolerated), he stated.
Congress MLAs joined in, raising slogans against the Centre, chanting, “Vote chor sarkaar ko ek dhakka aur do” (Give the vote-stealing government another push).
As the disturbance continued, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said the government was ready to address all questions from the opposition.
“But they should ask one by one. We are prepared to respond to all issues. However, it’s clear they are not interested in public welfare; this is their true face, exposed before the people,” the deputy chief minister asserted. (With inputs from PTI)
BINGO!
A common Kashmiri’s observation about the first day of the Assembly.
Bhangdha: That is what BJP did.
The Pasodoble: What PDP did
Om Shanti Om: What NC did.
Suited all three.
LoP accuses NC government of evading public issues
Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma on Mondayaccused the National Conference-led government of avoiding key public issues and failing to provide clear answers on matters affecting various sections of society.
Speaking in the Assembly, Sharma said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had raised concerns related to National Health Mission (NHM) employees, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, Anganwadi workers, Gram Rozgar Sevaks (GRSs), technical staff, daily wagers and unemployed youth.
According to Sharma, these groups were seeking clarity on issues such as employment security, outsourcing, regularisation and future career prospects.
He said the concerns of employees and workers could not be ignored as thousands of families depended on these jobs for their livelihoods.
The BJP leader also raised the issue of electricity tariffs, alleging that increased power charges were placing an additional burden on households across Jammu and Kashmir.
Sharma further referred to the grievances of cooperative bank depositors and said affected individuals continued to seek relief and resolution of their concerns.
“When genuine public concerns are raised in the Assembly, it is the responsibility of the government to provide clear answers,” Sharma said, adding that the BJP would continue to raise issues related to employment, livelihoods, public services and opportunities for youth.
He said the opposition would continue to seek accountability from the government and raise matters concerning the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the legislature.
The National Conference-led government had not responded to Sharma’s remarks at the time of issuing the statement.
CM seeks constructive debate in autumn session
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, which began in Srinagar on Monday, is an opportunity for meaningful debate and discussion on the issues faced by the public.
“The Autumn Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly commenced in Srinagar today. The chief minister said the session would provide an opportunity for meaningful debate, constructive deliberations and discussion on issues concerning the welfare and aspirations of the people,” the CM’s office said in a post on X.
The seven-day autumn session of the assembly commenced on a stormy note as the opposition BJP tried to corner the Abdullah government on various public issues.
The treasury benches raised the issue of J&K’s statehood and demanded its immediate restoration.
J&K has over 40,000 vacancies in govt departments
Jammu and Kashmir has over 40,000 vacancies in various government departments, with the highest in the Health and Medical Education department, the assembly was informed on Monday.
In reply to questions from MLAs Sajad Lone and Irfan Hafeez Lone about recruitment and vacancies, the government said there were 40,672 vacancies across various government departments.
A total of 3,318 gazetted posts, 24,427 non-gazetted posts, and 12,927 multi-tasking staff (MTS) posts were lying vacant, the government said.
The highest number of vacancies was in the Health and Medical Education department with 2,125 gazetted posts, 8,064 non-gazetted posts and 2608 MTS posts lying vacant in the crucial department.
The Agriculture Production department has 4,939 posts vacant, Finance has 1,829, and School Education 1,364 vacant posts, the government said.
The government said 17,922 posts have been referred to J&K Service Selection Board and 2,150 posts to the Public Service Commission in the last two years.
The government said it has taken a series of measures to ensure that vacant posts are filled in a time-bound manner.
“These include timely identification and referral of vacancies to the recruiting agencies, adherence to the prescribed statutory framework, advance planning of recruitment cycles, and close monitoring of recruitment timelines at various stages,” it said.
Efforts have been made to streamline procedures, strengthen coordination with the recruiting agencies and leverage technology to expedite the recruitment process, while ensuring transparency, fairness, and merit, it asserted.
The government has already issued directions to all the departments for timely referring of vacancies, falling under direct quota, to the recruiting agencies, it added.
So, NC will take more than two centuries to recruit one lakh Kashmiris: Sajad Lone
Peoples’ Conference president and Handwara MLA Sajad Gani Lone on Monday criticised the National Conference (NC) government in Jammu and Kashmir over its recruitment record, alleging that only 899 new jobs had been created in nearly two years against its promise of one lakh.
Citing data tabled in the Legislative Assembly in response to his question on government recruitment, Lone described the ruling party’s election manifesto as a “litany of lies”.
“In response to my question in the assembly pertaining to recruitment, the data brings out some ugly truths about the false promises made by the NC government in their election manifesto. The NC manifesto is a litany of lies,” he said in a post on X.
Lone said the NC had promised in its election manifesto to create one lakh new jobs, but “till date they have created 899 jobs”.
“It means that at current rate it will take them 222.46 years to create 1,00,000 jobs. What a joke. The bigger joke is on those people who bought this lie,” he added.
Referring to the manifesto’s promise to fill all vacancies in government departments within 180 days, Lone said only 7,580 vacancies had been filled in the past two years.
“As on date, 40,672 posts remain vacant. Data shows that 24,427 non-gazetted posts, 3,318 gazetted posts, and 12,927 multi-tasking staff positions are still unfilled. At this pace, it will take more than a decade to fill up these 40,672 posts,” he said.
Lone also alleged that the NC government had failed to fulfill its promise to waive application fees for government jobs.
“In response to a question submitted by me a year back, it turned out the same government had collected crores in application fees,” he said.
