Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR: Principal opposition party National Conference’s MLA from Pahalgam Altaf Ahmad Wani is incensed over being “ignored” by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during his visit to the world-famous tourist attraction. On Wednesday, Wani claimed to have filed a privilege motion against Mufti even as the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman Mehboob Beg asserted that Chief Minister was “not bound” to include the MLA in his entourage and Speaker as well as Secretary of Assembly maintained that they had not received any such motion.
Wani alleged at a news conference that his replacement by PDP’s defeated candidate Rafi Ahmad Mir during CM’s visit and meetings with the authorities at Pahalgam on Tuesday was a violation of the precedence and the protocol he was entitled to as MLA. He claimed to have immediately filed a privilege motion against CM in terms of Rule 238 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Speaker Kavinder Gupta as well as Secretary of Legislative Assembly Mohammad Ramzan, however, told STATE TIMES that they had not seen any member’s privilege motion till late on Wednesday. “Such a motion is supposed to be delivered by hand to Speaker. He reached late today from Jammu and I am not aware if he has received it”, Ramzan said.
“No, I haven’t seen any such motion”, Speaker said on telephone.
PDP’s Chief Spokesperson Dr Mehboob Beg asserted that Chief Minister was by no law or practice bound to carry along with him any area’s MLA during an official tour.
“Yes, the concerned legislators are entitled to attend and there’s no question of their replacement by any individual or authority if it is a District Development Board meeting. But yesterday Mufti Sahab was on an extensive tour of Anantnag district and he did not call any District Development Board meeting. Had he called once, the NC MLA would have been definitely invited along with all MLAs, MLCs, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of the district. Therefore, there’s no question of violation of any MLA’s protocol”, Beg told STATE TIMES.
Flanked by NC MLA Abdul Majid Larmi, MLCs Ali Mohammad Dar, Qaisar Jamsheed Lone and Showkat Ahmad Ganai, besides the party’s spokesman Junaid Mattu, Wani complained that a Chief Minister, who had lately stressed on maintenance of sanctity of the Assembly and its members, had shown disrespect to an elected peoples’ representative.
Wani said that he had filed the privilege motion with a resolve to safeguard the democratic rights of the people of Pahalgam who had elected him as their representative.
“This was not Mufti Sahab’s personal sight-seeing tour of Pahalgam. This was an official tour where the Chief Minister was accompanied by officers of the District Administration and where a review was conducted of various works in the constituency. How can the Chief Minister or the State Government sideline the constituents of Pahalgam in taking decisions that affect them? I am duly elected representative of Pahalgam and I will not allow the Government to subvert the verdict of the people in Pahalgam. The ‘Warrant of Precedence Protocol, Privileges and Amenities to the Members of the State Legislature’ has been violated and I have filed a Privilege Motion against the Chief Minister today”, Wani said.
“Also as per the Development Authority Act, I am a Member of the Pahalgam Development Authority. A meeting was held at the Civil Secretariat to review the Master Plan of Pahalgam under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister and Minister incharge Tourism Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. I was neither informed nor invited to attend the meeting. Non-statutory as well as political workers of PDP along with Government officers were present, making this a political meeting in the guise of an official meeting. By doing this I was denied my statutory right to perform the functions of an elected MLA and member of the Pahalgam Development Authority”, he added.
