Oppn parties, Independents submits fresh resolution in House
However, the resolution was not in the business of the assembly for today and the members said that they submitted it with the speaker Abdul Rahim Rather amid the chaos in the assembly
Amid the din in Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Thursday, Kashmir opposition parties, including Peoples Democratic Party, People’s Conference and two independent MLAs of Kashmir, tried to bring in a fresh resolution demanding immediate restoration of Articles 370 and 35-A in their original form and called for reversal of changes brought about by J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.
However, the resolution was not in the business of the assembly for today and the members said that they submitted it with the speaker Abdul Rahim Rather amid the chaos in the assembly. Rather told PTI that it has not reached him and urged members to follow procedure by submitting it to the assembly secretariat which will forward it to the speaker.
PC president Sajad Lone, PDP MLAs, including Waheed ur Rehman Para and Mir Fayaz , Langate MLA and Awami Ittihad Party leader Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh and Shopian MLA Shabir Ahmad Kullay waved the copies of the fresh resolution in the assembly.
“This House strongly condemns the unconstitutional and unilateral abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, along with the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, by the Government of India,” the resolution read.
“These actions stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and statehood, undermining the foundational guarantees and protections originally accorded to the region and its people by the Constitution of India,” the resolution read.
It further read: “This House unequivocally demands the immediate restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A in their original, unaltered form and calls for the reversal of all changes introduced by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019”. “We further urge the Government of India to respect the constitutional and democratic sanctity of Jammu and Kashmir by reinstating all special provisions and guarantees intended to preserve its distinct identity, culture, and political autonomy,” the resolution further read.
Wednesday resolution a “watered down” document: Lone
Outside the assembly, Sajad Lone later said that the resolution brought in by the government on Wednesday was a “watered down” document.
“We supported yesterday’s resolution as it was special status related but later on when we read it we thought it is very watered down. It will be humiliating for people of J&K, as the assembly embodies the will of people, and the resolution was so weak. When we wanted to discuss, the BJP people were protesting. So it seems that it is a fixed match (between NC and BJP),” he said.
PDP’s Waheed ur rehman Parra said that the NC’s resolution has not mentioned Articles 370 and 35-A and has vaguely mentioned special status.
“This (new) resolution is a people’s resolution –feedback of people, what exactly people of Kashmir and Jammu want from this resolution. And this is the message that should have passed out of the house. And we want NC to pass this resolution,” he said.
Shopian MLA Shabir Ahmad Kullay said that NC brought a weak resolution in which there was no mention of Article 370 or 35A. “So it was necessary to get a strong resolution,” he said.