NEW DELHI: Another ruckus broke out at the J&K Assembly in Srinagar on Thursday after Engineer Rashid’s brother, MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, displayed a banner on Article 370.
Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma objected to this, and the House was adjourned briefly.
The session resumed shortly after marshals escorted a few Opposition MLAs out for disrupting proceedings.
This ruckus follows a similar scene on Wednesday when the deputy chief minister, Surinder Kumar Choudhary, introduced a resolution calling for the restoration of Article 370.
The resolution was met with fierce opposition from Sunil Sharma, who objected to the proposal, resulting in a heated exchange on the assembly floor.
The week’s contentious debates have underscored deep political divisions over the demand to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
‘Jai Shri Ram’, anti-Pakistan slogans echo
On Wednesday, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly saw intense protests after a resolution was passed calling for dialogue between the central government and elected representatives to restore the region’s special status.
BJP members reacted fiercely, rushing to the well of the House, tearing up copies of the resolution and shouting slogans against the speaker and the ruling National Conference (NC) government.
The uproar forced the House to adjourn for the day.
BJP members chanted slogans including “August 5 Zindabad,” “Jai Shri Ram,” “Vande Mataram,” “Anti-national Agenda Nahi Chalega,” “Anti-Jammu Agenda Nahi Chalega,” “Pakistani Agenda Nahin Chalega,” and “Speaker Hai Hai.”
Resolution on article 370 sparks heated exchanges
The controversy around Article 370 has dominated discussions since the assembly’s inaugural session began on Monday. PDP leader Waheed Para, representing Pulwama, initially introduced the resolution to reinstate the special status and statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
The move was in line with his party’s stance against the 2019 revocation of Article 370, a decision that stripped the region of its autonomous status.
However, chief minister Omar Abdullah dismissed the resolution as “symbolic,” suggesting that it was introduced more for public attention than with genuine intent. He argued that if serious about the issue, the resolution should have been deliberated upon in consultation with the National Conference.
Abdullah’s remarks highlighted internal discord, even as the National Conference had campaigned for the restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy in its manifesto.
Broader political stakes
The debate around Article 370 has intensified amid the first session of the assembly following the 2019 abrogation. The assembly’s proceedings carry high stakes, as this marks the return of an elected government after a decade-long hiatus.
In the recent elections, the Congress-National Conference alliance won a significant 49 seats in the 90-member assembly, while the BJP secured 29 seats, underscoring a divided mandate.