The opening day of the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly turned noisy on Monday as BJP MLAs protested over electricity tariffs, the demands of National Health Mission employees and the regularisation of daily-wage workers.
The BJP members entered the Well of the House with placards and raised slogans against the government, forcing Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to intervene repeatedly. The disruption came shortly after the Assembly began its proceedings in Srinagar with obituary references to three former ministers.
The BJP said it wanted the government to respond to issues affecting employees and ordinary residents, including power supply, employment, outsourcing, NHM workers, ASHA and Anganwadi workers and daily wagers.
BJP MLAs Raise Slogans Over Public Issues
After the obituary references, BJP legislators began raising several issues they said required an immediate response from the administration.
Electricity tariffs emerged as one of the main points of protest. BJP members also raised the long-pending demands of NHM employees and called for regularisation of daily-wage workers.
Carrying placards, the protesting MLAs moved towards the Well of the House and raised slogans criticising the government.
Among the slogans raised was, “Yeh Sarkar nikammi hai” (This government is incompetent). The BJP members also shouted, “Bijli pani de na saki, woh sarkar nikammi hai” (A government that cannot provide electricity and water is incompetent).
The Speaker asked the protesting legislators to return to their seats and allow the Assembly to conduct its business.
Speaker Warns BJP Members
The continued protest created a noisy atmosphere inside the House, with the Speaker asking the BJP MLAs to end their demonstration.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather also directed that the BJP’s demonstration should not be recorded and urged the members to take their seats.
As the protests continued, Rather warned the members against disrupting the proceedings and said, “Gunda gardi nahi chalegi” (Hooliganism will not be tolerated).
Despite the repeated appeals, the BJP members continued with their slogans and demonstration for some time.
Sunil Sharma Says Opposition Will Raise Public Concerns
Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma defended the BJP’s decision to raise the issues during the session.
“It is about people’s hopes and expectations. People of J-K have their eyes on the session as to what the J-K Govt will say for the people, what promises it has fulfilled and what its future plans are,” Sharma said.
He added that the Opposition had a responsibility to highlight concerns that it believed had not received adequate attention.
“It is the responsibility of the Opposition to raise the voice of the section which has been overlooked. I am hopeful that the session will be positive for the welfare of the people,” Sharma said.
Ruling Alliance Pushes Statehood Demand
While the BJP focused its protest on public and employment-related issues, members of the ruling alliance also raised a major political demand — restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Members of the National Conference, Congress and CPI(M) stood up in the House and called for statehood to be restored.
CPI(M) Kulgam MLA MY Tarigami asked BJP members to support the demand as well.
“Two years have passed, but the promise of statehood has not been fulfilled,” Tarigami said.
Senior National Conference leader and Khanyar MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar led members of the treasury benches in raising slogans in favour of restoring statehood.
The demand has remained a major political issue in Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also previously said that the decision on restoring statehood rests with the Union government.
Congress Joins the Protest
Congress legislators also participated in the demonstrations inside the House and raised slogans directed at the Centre.
The protests from both sides resulted in repeated interruptions to legislative proceedings.
The competing demonstrations reflected two of the major political issues surrounding the session: the Opposition’s criticism of the administration over governance and public concerns, and the ruling alliance’s continued demand for restoration of statehood.
Deputy CM Says Government Ready to Answer Questions
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said the government was prepared to respond to the issues raised by the Opposition but asked the legislators to raise them individually.
“We are prepared to respond to all issues. However, it’s clear they are not interested in public welfare; this is their true face, exposed before the people,” Choudhary said.
The government has faced pressure over several employment and public-service issues in recent weeks. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier urged protesting NHM employees to return to dialogue, saying discussions could not take place while their agitation continued.
Assembly Adjourned Amid Uproar
With the protests continuing, the Assembly could not proceed smoothly with its scheduled business and was eventually adjourned until Tuesday morning.
The autumn session began in Srinagar on Monday and is scheduled to have seven sittings, continuing until September 30.
The BJP is expected to continue raising issues including electricity tariffs, unemployment, temporary employees, NHM and other frontline workers, infrastructure and governance during the remaining proceedings.
The ruling alliance, meanwhile, is expected to continue pressing the Centre over the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
The first day’s proceedings have therefore set the stage for a politically charged session, with the Opposition seeking government answers on public issues and the ruling parties keeping the statehood demand at the centre of their agenda.
