Jammu and Kashmir Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday (February 27, 2025) chaired a meeting of legislators in Jammu to impress upon the Opposition parties to allow smooth functioning of the session, in the wake of positions taken by the BJP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on issues such as revoked special status and land in the Union Territory.
Mr. Rather urged the representatives of all political parties and Independent legislators “for cooperation to ensure productivity of the House”. “I urge all the members to engage in meaningful debates, uphold House decorum and work towards the collective good of our people as well as entire Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Speaking after attending the meeting, BJP legislator and Leader of the Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma said, “The BJP will not allow any unconstitutional, undemocratic or anti-national resolution, question or any Bill in the House. I urged the Speaker that he shouldn’t allow any such activity and run the House impartially.”
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Mr. Sharma was referring to debates around Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir till 2019. “The public issues need to be highlighted during the Assembly session which is possible only when no disruptions occur,” Mr. Sharma added.
As per new business rules of the Union Territory, the House cannot debate issues pertaining to public law and order, keeping the security agencies outside the purview of the House.
Those who attended the meeting on Thursday included Mr. Sharma and Surjeet Singh Salathia of the BJP, Mubarik Gul of the NC, Ghulam Ahmad Mir of the Indian National Congress, Mohd, Yousuf Tarigami of the CPI(M), Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra of the PDP and Advocate Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, an independent legislator.
“We have hopes that people’s issues will be raised and addressed by the government in the upcoming session,” Mr. Tarigami said.
Reacting sharply to the BJP’s stand, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said, “Quite surprising to see a BJP legislator attempting to influence the Speaker about what should or shouldn’t be permitted in the House.”
She said the Speaker’s role was to maintain fairness and order, not to cater to any single party’s agenda. “The question arises who determines what qualifies as anti-national or unconstitutional. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly should be a forum for open debate, not a setting where anyone dictates a list of acceptable topics,” Ms. Mufti said.
Mr. Parra said the upcoming session allows issues of people after a period of six years. “We are hopeful the House will function democratically,” he said.
Mr. Parra has already introduced a Private Member Bill titled “The Jammu and Kashmir (Regularisation and Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Land) Bill, 2025” “to legalise and confer property rights upon residents who have constructed and lived in houses on state-owned, common, and other lands for decades”.
Several legislators, including the ruling National Conference (NC) and PDP, have moved private members Bills to ban liquor. The NC is also introducing a Bill on rationalisation of reservation in Jammu and Kashmir, in the wake of Centre’s fresh entries into Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe list.
Meanwhile, PDP president Ms. Mufti has written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Leader of the Opposition Mr. Sunil Sharma, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Sajad Lone, CPI(M)’s Mohd Yousuf Tarigami, AIP’s Sheikh Khursheed and other independent MLAs, urging them to support the three crucial Bills introduced by PDP legislators in the Assembly.
The three Bills proposed by PDP include, J&K (Regularisation & Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Land) Bill, 2025; J&K Civil Services (Special Provisions for Regularisation of Adhoc, Daily Wagers, Need-Based and Other Temporary Workers) Act, 2025 and J&K Prohibition of Alcohol Bill, 2025
“These Bills should not be seen as the initiative of one party but as essential steps toward addressing public grievances. I look forward to your positive response and hope that we can move forward on these core issues together. Our political paths may differ, but the challenges faced by our people are shared, and so must be our resolve to address them,” Ms. Mufti said in the letter.
Jammu and Kashmir, which was split into two union territories in 2019, witnessed the first Assembly elections in 2024. In November last year, the first Assembly session was held in Srinagar, which saw a major face-off between BJP and regional parties over the resolutions pressed in favour of restoration of Article 370 and opposing the Centre’s moves of 2019. The second Assembly session is scheduled to commence from March 3, 2025 in winter capital Jammu.
Published – February 27, 2025 08:58 pm IST