Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution seeking urgent restoration of full statehood, amid a walkout by the opposition BJP.
The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday last week. However, it was deferred as several members wanted to speak over the issue.
The opposition BJP protested against the resolution on Friday as well as on Monday, with party members jumping into the well of the House, tearing business papers and conducting mock proceedings.
“In addition to the resolutions passed by this House on 26, June 2000 and 6 November, 2024, the House calls upon the Government of India for the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and resolves that this resolution be forwarded to the Government of India,” the resolution read.
The NC-led government headed by Farooq Abdullah had passed a resolution on June 26, 2000 for restoration of greater autonomy as existed before August 9, 1953.
On November 6, 2024, the House passed a resolution seeking the restoration of special status.
Several members, including from the ruling National Conference (NC), had moved amendments to the resolution, with many seeking that the resolution also demand the restoration of special status.
However, while responding during the debate, the chief minister urged the members to withdraw their amendments, saying “they had got trapped in this scheme (of the BJP) and moved amendments”.
“This House has already passed resolutions twice for special status — one in (former CM) Farooq Abdullah time, and the other in 2024 soon after the formation of this government. Special status is a provision that other states do not have. We have asked the Centre to restore the special provisions which we had before 2019. So, I request my colleagues not to press the amendments which will give the BJP an excuse to oppose it,” Abdullah said.
Following the CM’s appeal, the Speaker asked the members whether they intended not to press the amendments, to which all eight MLAs agreed.
The Speaker then put the resolution to vote, even as BJP members continued with their protest.
The resolution was passed through voice vote amid a walkout by the BJP.
The BJP said the reference to autonomy and special status in the resolution was an insult to the Constitution and it would not allow a discussion on it or its passage in the House.
Earlier, the Assembly descended into chaos as BJP members protesting a resolution seeking urgent restoration of statehood jumped into the well of the House, tore business papers and conducted mock proceedings.
This came after the opposition party moved a motion seeking the removal of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather for allowing the resolution moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday “in contravention of rules”.
The BJP said the reference to autonomy and special status in the resolution was an insult to the Constitution and that the party would not allow a discussion on it or its passage in the House.
Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma said the members of the assembly had been elected to represent the people.
“J&K is a sensitive state and we have enemies around. They are hatching conspiracies. We don’t want to do opposition for the sake of opposition. We want that statehood to be restored. It is our agenda. But the kind of resolution they have brought, it is in violation of the Constitution and is unacceptable,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chaudhary asked what happened to the Centre’s promise of restoring J&K’s statehood.
“Are we going to give up statehood? What is wrong with the resolution for statehood? The home minister has promised on the floor of the Parliament that statehood will be restored. They promised before the highest court of the country. What happened to those promises? Two years have passed since,” he said.
Chaudhary then urged Speaker Rather to put the motion moved against him by the BJP to vote.
“Why wait for 14 days?” he said, referring to Rather citing a rule that states that a motion for the removal of the speaker can only be taken up 14 days after its submission.
BJP members then jumped into the well of the House.
Some party MLAs tore the business papers of the House and raised slogans like “Desh drohiyon ka agenda nahi chalega, nahi chalega (Agenda of anti-nationals will not be tolerated)”; “Samvidhan se mazak, band karo (Stop making a mockery of the Constitution)”; and “Samvidhan ki hatya band karo (Stop the murder of the Constitution)”.
BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma then began conducting mock proceedings in the well of the House. All party MLAs sat on the floor during the mock proceedings.
Minister Sakina Ittoo hit out at the BJP members, saying they were “only doing drama for galleries”.
