SRINAGAR: The J&K assembly resembled a fight club Thursday as BJP MLAs clashed with marshals after speaker Abdul Rahim Rather ordered the eviction of opposition members who were protesting the passage of a resolution on restoring the former state’s special status — revoked in 2019 with the abrogation of Article 370.
The commotion began when independent MLA Sheikh Khursheed of jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party displayed a banner advocating for Article 370 and 35A. BJP lawmakers stormed the well and tore the banner. The speaker briefly adjourned the House, but the BJP members continued their protest, refusing to heed calls for order.
Upon resuming, leader of opposition Sunil Sharma of BJP opposed the assembly passing Wednesday the resolution — calling it a “drama”. This fuelled dissent among members in the treasury bench.
Slogans filled the House as BJP MLAs chanted in support of Kashmir’s integration with India: “Balidaan huway jahan Mukerjee woh Kashmir hamara hai.” National Conference (NC) members retorted by emphasising their allegiance to J&K: “Jis Kashmir ko khoon say seencha, woh Kashmir hamara hai.” CM Omar Abdullah looked grim and watched the yelling match silently.
As tempers flared, speaker Rather directed marshals to remove BJP members, resulting in physical altercations. BJP MLA Shagun Parihar’s protest by standing on a table led woman marshals to intervene, intensifying the ruckus. Eventually, the speaker adjourned the proceedings for the day.
The disruption stemmed from the resolution that urged the Union govt for a dialogue to restore the special status and constitutional protections afforded to J&K by Article 370.
Later, J&K BJP president Sat Sharma said: “NC has brought the resolution. NC knows all too well that even if it is brought 100 times, they won’t succeed as long as PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah are at the Centre. They are doing this to distract people, disturb peace.”
His predecessor Ravinder Raina said BJP will not allow Article 370 to be restored. “Article 370 has become history and it can never return,” he asserted.
While deputy CM Surinder Choudhary and food minister Satish Sharma accused BJP of “driving a wedge between Kashmir and Jammu”, Peoples Conference chief and MLA Sajad Lone alleged that NC is playing a “fixed match” with BJP by passing a watered down resolution.
“We demand the immediate rollback of Article 370, the restoration of statehood, and the complete nullification of the reorganisation act,” Lone said.
Cabinet minister Sakina Itoo responded, saying Lone was a minister in the previous PDP-BJP govt through the “Nagpur quota”. “PM Modi used to be his elder brother,” said Itoo, referring to Lone’s earlier alliance with BJP.