J&K Assembly adjourned for day amid uproar on resolution for restoration of Article 370

Srinagar (The Uttam Hindu): As Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly resumed proceedings after the adjournment of 15 minutes on Thursday, the Speaker adjourned the House again till Friday after BJP MLAs refused to stay calm over the resolution passed on Wednesday seeking restoration of Article 370. As the BJP MLAs raised an uproar in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary, PDS minister, Satish Sharma and MLA Payare Lal Sharma countered the BJP saying, “You will never get a separate Jammu”. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the House till tomorrow as the Opposition refused to settle down.

The BJP is demanding roll back of the special status resolution brought by the government on Wednesday that was passed by voice vote. Soon after the House met, BJP MLAs refused to maintain calm and Deputy CM Choudhary accused the BJP of “double standards” and ruining J&K over the past ten years. “You sold Jammu land, you sold everything in Jammu, you are responsible for the mess in Jammu,” Choudhary shouted while PDS minister, Satish Sharma also countered the BJP stating that they should allow the House to do its business.

“You will be made accountable by the people of Samba, Kathua and Jammu. Don’t divide Kashmir and Jammu. You are the reason behind the wedge between Kashmir and Jammu. Do you want further division? “By climbing over the table where the Indian Constitution was placed, you claim to be champions of Indian democracy. You should be punished for desecrating the copies of the Indian Constitution. Jammu can’t be separated from Kashmir. We have to take together Kashmir, Jammu and even Ladakh”, Sharma said. The Speaker made repeated requests to the Opposition to take their seats, but they refused and instead demanded the resolution passed yesterday in the House be expunged.

The leader of the House, Omar Abdullah watched the proceedings silently. As the Opposition refused to take seats, the Speaker announced adjournment of the House till tomorrow. BJP leaders have said that the passing of the resolution for restoration of Article 370 is unconstitutional and illegal after the Article was abrogated by the country’s Parliament and the action upheld by the Supreme Court of India. Earlier, the BJP’s protest in the Assembly got a strongly-worded response from the ruling NC MLAs and others who voted in support of the resolution.

The situation escalated further after BJP members voiced strong opinions on the Special Status once granted under Article 370 to J&K. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather tried to calm tempers, but after his repeated attempts failed to quell the pandemonium, he adjoined the House for 15 minutes. BJP MLAs have asserted that they will not allow the Assembly to function till the resolution is withdrawn. J&K Assembly passed the resolution for restoration of Article 370 yesterday. The resolution was moved by the Deputy CM Choudhary and NC leader and minister, Sakina Masood seconded the move.

The resolution was moved by the government on the third day of the Assembly’s current session. BJP leader, Sunil Sharma, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, resented the move strongly, holding that when the business of the House was a debate on the Lieutenant Governor’s address, how could the government move such a resolution. The resolution moved by the government said, “This Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and expresses concern over the unilateral removal. “This Assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of people of J&K for restoration of special status, constitutional guarantees and to work out the constitutional mechanisms for restoring these provisions. “This Assembly emphasises that any process for restoration must safeguard both national unity and the legitimate aspirations of the people of J&K”.

The move evoked strong opposition and uproar from BJP leader, Sunil Sharma, who said amid din in the House, “When business was about discussion on LG’s address, how was this resolution moved.” Independent MLAs, Sheikh Khurshid Ahmed, Shabir Ahmad, Sajad Lone of the PC and three MLAs of the PDP supported the resolution. Speaker Rather put the motion to vote and it was passed by the majority of the House. Chaos continued in the Assembly after which the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

The passing of the resolution seeking restoration of statehood to J&K by the ruling NC would constitutionally have little impact, but at the political level, the passing of the resolution has brought the J&K government in direct confrontation with the Centre. Article 370 and 35A were abrogated by the country’s Parliament on August 5, 2019 and the power of the Parliament to do so was upheld by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.