Srinagar: The autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly began Thursday with tributes to deceased members, but the solemn start quickly gave way to heated debates over statehood, reservations, and workers’ rights, following pre-session protests demanding justice.
The proceedings began with the Speaker of the House, Abdul Rahim Rather, remembering all seven deceased and paid homage to them, highlighting their contributions.
The departed, who were remembered, included former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik, former minister, Gulchain Singh Charak, former MLA Dina Nath Bhagat, former MLC, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, former MLC, Ramesh Arora, former MLC, Sardar Mohammad Akhlaq Khan and former legislator Mohammad Sultan Pandithpuri.
During the obituary reference, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah; Leader of Opposition, Sunil Kumar Sharma; Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Kumar Choudhary; Minister Javed Ahmed Rana and the MLAs including Dr Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri, Dr Devinder Kumar Manyal, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Rafiq Ahmad Naik, Dr Rameshwar singh, Mubarak Gul, Salman Ali Sagar, M.Y Tarigami, Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, Pawan Gupta, Sajad Gani Lone, Aijaz Jan, Abdul Majid Bhat Larmi, Nizamuddin Bhat, Vikram Randhawa, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Choudhary Mohammad Akram, Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi, Iftikhar Ahmed and Narinder Singh paid tributes to the departed souls.
The session comprises six sittings, including the obituary references held today.
The Assembly proceedings are expected to be stormy, with the opposition expected to target the government over governance failures, unfulfilled promises made in the NC’s election manifesto, demands for statehood, and reservation-related concerns—(KNO)
