CM says process to regularise daily wagers will be started this year
*Won’t let House function tomorrow till CM apologises: LoP
Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Feb 10: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly witnessed chaos and noisy scenes today after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators resorted to protest and sloganeering over the use of what they termed as “unparliamentary language” by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the concluding day of the budgetary discussions.
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The Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma also warned that if the Leader of the House did not tender an unconditional apology for his remarks, the opposition would not allow the House to function tomorrow.
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“Either the Chief Minister has to apologise in the House for his objectionable remarks, or we will not let the House function tomorrow,” Sharma told reporters outside the Legislative Assembly.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, however, refused to tender an apology, stating that his remarks were already on record.
“There is no question of apologising now, as the remarks are already on record,” he said, while addressing media persons outside the Legislative Assembly, even as Omar claimed that he was ready to withdraw his remarks, but BJP legislators did not allow him to do so and continued disrupting his speech.
While winding up the discussion on the Union Territory’s Budget presented on February 6, the Chief Minister said his Government’s budget was aimed at benefiting the poorest of the poor, the downtrodden and marginalised sections of the society.
He referred to several fiscal reforms and welfare measures, including the provision of free LPG cylinders, free rides on public transport, and fee waivers for deserving AAY beneficiaries.
He said that despite initiating these welfare measures under difficult circumstances, which have been acknowledged and appreciated even by people in Delhi, BJP MLAs in the UT oppose them merely for the sake of opposition.
For instance, he said several BJP MLAs, during their budget speeches, claimed that the UT Government had no achievements of its own and was only projecting the Centre’s achievements as its own.
“These allegations are not true. Six LPG cylinders to AAY households, free ridership to women and persons with disabilities, fee waivers and similar schemes are initiatives of my Government, not the Central Government’s,” he said.
Turning to the horticulture sector, the Chief Minister said that while his Government was making sustained efforts to promote growth in horticulture, the Union Government discouraged the sector through the recent Indo-US trade deal.
He expressed surprise that several BJP legislators in the UT were endorsing the deal and projecting it as a major achievement of the Union Government.
“I fail to understand how this trade deal is beneficial for the horticulture sector of the region,” Omar said, claiming that under the deal, there would be zero import duty on certain crops grown in J&K, including chestnut, dry fruits, fruits and dairy products.
Several BJP legislators, including LoP Sunil Sharma, RS Pathania, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Surjeet Singh Slathia, Sham Lal Sharma, Sunil Bhardwaj, Shagun Parihar, Rajiv Jasrotia, and Baldev Raj Sharma, among others opposed the Chief Minister, claiming the deal was highly beneficial for the country and the region.
The Leader of the House contested their claims, saying BJP leaders themselves referred to it as a “deal”, which literally translates to “Sauda” in Hindi and Urdu.
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s remarks, LoP Sunil Sharma said it was indeed a “Sauda” that was beneficial for the country and Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar again asked how the deal was beneficial for almond, walnut and kiwi growers, fruit growers and beekeepers in both Jammu and Kashmir regions.
“It might be beneficial for Kerala’s seafood or marine industry, but what about the people of J&K?” he asked.
Following this, BJP legislators led by Sunil Sharma claimed that the UT budget had nothing for unemployed youth, daily wagers, women and the elderly, and resorted to sloganeering, forcing Omar Abdullah to sit on his chair for about a minute.
As the Chief Minister resumed, he said that when J&K BJP leaders speak either inside or outside the House, they have nothing to count as their own achievements “as they only say Modi Ji, Modi Ji, Modi Ji.”
Referring specifically to the LoP’s budget speech, Omar said, “Out of his 30-minute speech, he spoke only three minutes on the budget. For the rest of the time, he discussed unnecessary issues like SROs and whether he could roam freely in downtown.”
As BJP legislators continued sloganeering over his remarks on the Indo-US trade deal, the Leader of the House said, “They cannot remain silent because our people-friendly budget may have hit them hard.”
“LoP Sahab, aapke tewar mein badlav aaya hai. Aisa lagta hai jaise Home Minister ke aate-aate aapko aise jootey pade ki pichhli takreer jo aap logon ne ki… (Mr LoP, there seems to be a change in your attitude. It appears as if the Home Minister’s arrival has led to your ‘thrashing with the shoes’ to such an extent that your last speech….),” Omar said.
Taking strong note of what they described as “unparliamentary remarks”, LoP Sunil Sharma, flanked by BJP MLAs including Shagun Parihar, RS Pathania, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Surjeet Singh Slathia, Sham Lal Sharma, Sunil Bhardwaj, Baldev Raj Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Rajiv Jasrotia, demanded an unconditional apology from the Chief Minister.
As BJP legislators did not allow Omar Abdullah to speak, he said he was willing to issue a clarification over his remarks.
However, BJP MLAs stood on their chairs and assembled in the front row of the House, continuing their protest and demanding an apology.
Meanwhile, Minister Satish Sharma, who was requesting BJP legislators to take their seats, had a heated argument with his uncle and BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma, which later turned ugly, when both exchanged personal remarks.
As the situation escalated, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather made repeated efforts to persuade BJP members to return to their seats. After the protesting members didn’t listen to the Speaker’s requests, he issued directions to the Assembly Secretariat and media not to record the sloganeering by the BJP members against the Chief Minister.
Despite this, BJP legislators continued demanding an apology, with slogans exchanged from both treasury and opposition benches.
The Chief Minister reiterated that he was ready to issue a clarification if his remarks had hurt BJP legislators, but they demanded nothing short of an apology.
As the disruptions continued, Omar went on to list his Government’s initiatives, including self-registration of MSMEs for three years to curb red-tapism, reopening of tourist destinations, training of entrepreneurs, fast-track recruitment against 23,000 posts, reopening of the darbar move in Jammu, and receiving Rs 300 crore in the first year under SASCI funds.
Concluding his budget speech, the Chief Minister said that while he and his Government had frequently been attacked by BJP and PDP over the issue of daily wagers, he remained committed to their regularisation.
“Let me assure the House that my Government will initiate the process for regularisation of daily wagers within this year itself,” Omar said.
Meanwhile, speaking to media persons outside the Assembly, LoP Sunil Sharma said BJP MLAs would not allow the House to function until the Chief Minister withdrew his words and tendered an unconditional apology on the floor of the House.
“This day will be written in black letters in the history of the Assembly proceedings of the UT,” Sharma said.
“The Chief Minister, who is the Leader of the House, has crossed all limits of parliamentary decorum and torn apart the sanctity of the House. Such language does not befit his stature as no Chief Minister has ever used such words in the country,” he said.
Sharma further said such behaviour by a Chief Minister also raised questions about his upbringing.
Clarifying his stand outside the Assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reiterated that he would not apologise as his remarks were already on record.
“Had BJP legislators allowed me to speak, I would have withdrawn my words and said the same thing differently. But they did not allow me even a second. Since the words are already on record, there is no question of apologising,” he said.
He also questioned whom he was expected to apologise to, alleging that those lecturing in the Assembly about nationalism and the Constitution could not even sit through the entire Republic Day function on January 26.
“The Leader of Opposition, who teaches us lessons on patriotism, was sitting next to me. He could not remain seated for the entire duration. At the halfway mark, he got up and left. And then he comes here to lecture us on nationalism,” the Chief Minister said.
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