SRINAGAR: Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma on Wednesday termed the recently concluded seven-day Autumn Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly as “unfortunate,” alleging that the government failed to address issues affecting various sections of society.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar on the final day of the session, Sharma said employees, including daily wagers, National Health Mission (NHM) workers, contractual staff, National Youth Corps (NYC) members, ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers, had expected the government to respond to their concerns during the session.
He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had collected and raised issues from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir but alleged that the National Conference-led government did not provide adequate responses.
Sharma also criticised the government’s statehood resolution, alleging that references to the pre-1953 constitutional arrangement and Article 370 had complicated the issue of statehood restoration.
He said the BJP supports the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but opposed linking the demand with the erstwhile constitutional framework that existed before 1953.
Referring to the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Sharma said the constitutional position of Jammu and Kashmir had been settled with the application of the Constitution of India to the Union Territory.
The BJP leader also questioned the Congress party’s position on the resolution and criticised its support for the move.
Sharma further raised objections to the manner in which the resolution was admitted in the Assembly and questioned the Speaker’s decision to allow its discussion.
He alleged that the government had failed to address employment-related issues and claimed that around 13,000 posts remained vacant. He also accused the administration of not effectively utilising recruitment agencies such as the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Recruitment Board (JKSSRB).
Sharma said the BJP had prepared a dossier highlighting what it described as unfulfilled promises and intended to submit it to the government through the Assembly.
The National Conference government and Congress had not responded to Sharma’s allegations at the time of filing this report.