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The J&K Assembly saw dramatic visuals on two consecutive days as MLAs engaged in scuffle over special status and Article 370 issue.
Chaotic visuals from the J&K Assembly (ANI Image)
In a high-octane drama, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly saw a ruckus between the BJP and MLAs of other parties on back-to-back days on Friday over the banner waved by a PDP MLA seeking restoration of Article 370.
The Assembly reverberated with the slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ as the ruckus erupted in the House following the display of the banner.
#WATCH | Srinagar | BJP MLAs raise slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in Jammu & Kashmir Assembly as ruckus erupts in the House after PDP MLA from Kupwara shows a banner on the restoration of Article 370 pic.twitter.com/zXC1rldxnV— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2024
MLAs engage in scuffle
A BJP MLA was seen approaching PDP MLA from Kupwara, who held the banner, and holding it before being pushed by the legislator.
The scuffle broke out on two consecutive days in the House where the MLAs were seen jumping the benches to cross over to the well and exchanging blows.
#WATCH | Ruckus in J&K assembly after PDP MLA from Kupwara shows a banner on the restoration of Article 370; Scuffle and sloganeering by BJP MLAs; Awami Ittehad Party MLA, Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh taken out of the House by marshals pic.twitter.com/UaZ8mBt4LE— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2024
The BJP MLAs who entered the well were marshalled out of the Assembly on the directions of the Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather.
The Assembly saw disruption and chaotic scenes over the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday while it was a witness to another dramatic turn of events today.
J&K LoP dubs day ‘darkest day in democracy’
LoP Sunil Sharma described the turn of events as the “darkest day in democracy” and accused the Assembly Speaker of behaving as the “Speaker of National Conference,” instead of the House.
“This is the darkest day in J&K’s democracy. For the last three days, the Speaker – who is believed to be the custodian of the House, has been implementing marshal law, behaving as the speaker of the National Conference. They want to suppress the voice of the opposition,” Sharma said.
Sharma said that the Assembly is bigger than the Parliament and the Supreme Court, which had upheld the Centre’s decision to scrap Article 370 from the Constitution, and added that there cannot be a debate on this topic.
After BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the House, Sharma said that they would run a parallel assembly against the speaker outside the House.
“We wanted to have a debate – about the way our MLAs were manhandled by the marshals at the direction of the Speaker, they did this today as well. We will now sit here on protest to run a parallel assembly which is against the Speaker,” he said.
J&K Assembly resolution
The Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking dialogue for the restoration of special status to the UT. The resolution was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and was passed by voice vote.
All parties, except for the BJP extended support to it.
“This Legislative Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal… This Assembly calls upon the government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status, constitutional guarantees and to work out constitutional mechanisms for restoring these provisions,” the resolution read.
- Location :
Srinagar, India
