JAMMU: Amid uproar by the opposition, the House proceedings of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly were on Tuesday adjourned for a day as opposition created uproar on ‘expunging’ the remarks of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti yesterday on Article 370.
The opposition members also staged sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s Secretariat amid slogans after the adjournment of House proceedings.
The Speaker Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta earlier in the morning at around 11:25 AM adjourned the House for a day when opposition created pandemonium alleging that he (Speaker) expunged Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks that anybody demanding Article 370 abrogation is anti-national. BJP MLA from Kathua Rajiv Jasrotia during Zero Hour raised the issue in the House saying that NC has agenda of Autonomy and PDP is having Self Rule but BJP has core issue of abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and we are not anti-nationals. He demanded that her remarks should be expunged as those opposing Article 370 are not anti-nationals.
The Speaker Kavinder Gupta however, on legislator’s request “expunged” Mufti’s remarks, following which the opposition members created ruckus in the House terming it unconstitutional. Gupta adjourned the House for an hour. The House again assembled at 12:30 PM but opposition members were on their toes and created ruckus.
NC member Ali Mohmmad Sagar, flanked by other opposition members, asked the Speaker, “How can you do it (expunge the CM’s remarks). You are making a mockery of this House.”
The members walked into the Well of the House, raising anti-government slogans, and demanded that the government should resign over this issue.
They shouted that the Chief Minister should come to the floor of the House and clear her statement on Article 370. The Speaker again adjourned the House for 15 minutes. Speaking to reporters outside the House, NC MLA Devendra Singh Rana said that it is in the history for the first time, remarks of Chief Minister, who is also leader of House, are expunged.
“The Chief Minister should either clear her stand or resign from the chair,” Rana said.
Congress MLA Nawang Rigzin Jora said, “On the request of its ally BJP, the Speaker expunged the remarks, which has never happened in the past.”
“On this issue, we are with Mufti but she has to come clear or quit as CM,” said Jora.
Earlier, BJP MLA Ravinder Raina had also raised the issue soon after the House began this morning, claiming that Article 370 is defrauding the people of Jammu and Kashmir and its abrogation is the core ideology of BJP.
“BJP does not have full majority. If the BJP gets two- thirds majority, it will scrap Article 370. Let there be a discussion in the House over Article 370,” Raina said.
Meanwhile the House proceedings yet again resumed at 12:50 PM with tabling of private members Bill but NC, Congress legislators kept shouting and created uproar into the Well of the House. The Speaker however said, “I have not expunged the words. Let the Chief Minister clear in the House.” Amid pandemonium, the Speaker adjourned the House for a day.
Meanwhile, after the House was adjourned for a day, entire opposition staged sit-in outside the Chief Minister Secretariat here amid anti-BJP slogans.
National Conference and Congress MLAs protested outside the CM Secretariat shouting slogans ‘RSS sarkar hai hai’, ‘BJP sarkar hai hai,’ ‘Bajrangi sarkar hai hai.’
The protesting MLAs were demanding Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to reply on her statement asserting that anybody raising issue of abrogation is anti-national.
She said in her speech yesterday during grants of her department.
The protesting MLAs said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat should issue statement whether they are anti-nationals or not.
‘Nagpur sarkar’, ‘Jumla sarkar’, ‘match fixing sarkar’, hai hai, shouted the MLAs.
They said that Speaker for the first time in the history expunged the words of chief minister, who is also Leader of the House. “We want chief minister to clear her stand and straight way should go to Governor’s House and offer her resignation,” they added.
‘Jo 370 se takrayega, khoon ki nadiyaan bahengi,’ shouted the MLAs. They also held a march amid hullabaloo in the Secretariat premises. In a clear message to ally BJP, the Chief Minister had yesterday said anybody weakening Article 370, which grants special status to the state, will be doing the “biggest anti-national act”. “There are some forces within this country who think that by scrapping Article 370, the issue of Kashmir will be resolved and everything will be alright,” she said. BJP’s stated position is that Article 370 should be scrapped for total integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. “There is a conspiracy being hatched against our culture and state. Those who speak against Article 370, they don’t know that the Article 370, which is our special status, is in our character because of which we have dismissed the two ideological (narrative of two-nation theory) and also religion, and have shaken hands with India,” Mehbooba said.