‘Black day’: J&K LoP Sunil Sharma slams CM Abdullah’s remarks in Assembly

JAMMU: The Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma, on Tuesday termed certain remarks by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the House a “black day” in the democratic history of the Union territory and demanded an unconditional apology from him, warning that the opposition would not allow the House to function until the remarks were withdrawn.

Speaking on the floor of the House, Sharma said the day would be remembered as one that brought shame to the country’s democratic process.

“I believe that today will be written in black letters in the history of the J-K’s Assembly proceedings. It will be remembered as a day that brought shame to the country’s democratic process,” Sharma told reporters here.

He was reacting to certain remarks of Abdullah targeting the BJP legislators in the House.

Sharma also accused the National Conference of supporting separatism in the past and alleged that its leaders defended terrorists, claiming the party remained at the forefront when Kashmir witnessed violence.

Alleging that the chief minister crossed all limits of decorum, Sharma said, “Abdullah undermined the sanctity of the Assembly by using inappropriate language during the proceedings.

“He is not an ordinary MLA, he is the chief minister. Such words are neither expected from a chief minister, nor have they ever been spoken in any Assembly of this country,” he said.

Referring to the alleged use of unparliamentary words and remarks by Abdullah, Sharma said, “The language disgraced the Assembly, the office of the chief minister and the dignity of the proceedings.”

“But arrogance has gone so much to his (Abdullah’s) head that he has forgotten the dignity of words and the sanctity of language. By using such words inside the Assembly, he has disgraced himself and the House,” Sharma alleged.

He also said that instead of responding to issues concerning daily-wage workers, unemployment, farmers and other public concerns, the chief minister resorted to using such language.

“We reject and condemn the words of Omar Abdullah and demand an unconditional apology. Our MLAs will not allow the House to function tomorrow until the chief minister withdraws his remarks and apologises on the floor of the House,” Sharma said.

He also claimed that Abdullah was not answering the questions raised by the opposition and was instead repeatedly targeting the Central government.

“If National Conference legislators were elected only to blame the Centre for governance issues, it would not serve the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

In the Assembly, Sharma accused the chief minister of maintaining “double standards” on key political and developmental issues, alleging that the National Conference took contradictory positions over time for political interests.

He also claimed that there was a time when Omar Abdullah made provocative statements over land allotment for the Amarnath Yatra, which, according to him, led to unrest.

The same leadership now talks about infrastructure development for the Amarnath Yatra after the abrogation of Article 370, which, he alleged, exposed the party’s changing political stance.

“This has happened due to the abrogation of Article 370,” he said.

Sharma also said that the promises made by the National Conference during elections had turned out to be “deceptive” and “remained unfulfilled”.

Flood victims did not receive adequate relief, he claimed, alleging that the promise of providing 200 units of free electricity remained confined to words.

Sharma also praised the Narendra Modi-led Centre, claiming that it delivered justice to families affected by terrorism by providing them respect and employment opportunities. (PTI)