The clemency resolution on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru may not be admitted by Kashmir Assembly Speaker Akbar Lone fearing “dangerous fallout and potential to obstruct the house’s business”.
“Nothing will come out of it (resolution) unless and until the government and the
opposition bring it in a way where the issue can be debated. Such sensitive issues are likely to divide the house and obstruct its functioning. I will not allow obstruction,” said Lone in an exclusive interview to the Hindustan Times.
Legislator Abdul Rasheed, an MLA from north Kashmir’s Langate constituency, had moved the resolution for second time in assembly, meeting for the budget session on February 23.
Last year, in October, the same resolution could not be tabled as the BJP and the Congress disrupted the house over a different issue. Rasheed accused the ruling National Conference, coalition partner Congress and opposition Peoples Democratic Party of stage managing fall of tabling the resolution and sat on sit in outside the assembly in Srinagar.
Speaker Lone said he has discretionary power to disallow resolution with potential to disrupt the house. “There are sensitive resolutions like Guru one and the resolution moved by the BJP asking for implementation of death sentence in the same case. This can have the valley on fire. I have thoroughly examined them and will not allow anyone to disturb the house,” said Lone.
The speaker has received 84 private member resolutions and disallowed 19, which may include MLA Rasheed’s resolution too.
To be politically correct in the valley, where there are many takers for Guru’s clemency, both the NC and the PDP were in public favouring the clemency. In fact, the issue was first raked up by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah last year.
“If J&K Assembly had passed a resolution similar to the Tamil Nadu one for Afzal Guru would the reaction have been as muted? I think not,” Abdullah wrote on the social networking site Twitter, sparking a debate to be followed by Rasheed’s resolution.
Abdullah’s tweet came after the Tamil Naidu assembly passed a unanimous resolution asking President Pratibha Patil to review the mercy petitions filed by the three convicts in former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and commute the death sentence to life imprisonment.
“Let’s discuss the pros and cons of the resolution in line with values of democratic set up. The resoltuion will give a sense of the house over the issue. When a similar issue was debated in the Tamil Nadu assembly, why not same can be done in J&K? said Rasheed on Tuesday.