Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) president Dr Farooq Abdullah on Sunday urged MLAs to highlight the issues and demands of the people in their respective constituencies during the upcoming autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
The NC convened a meeting of its legislators and independent members supporting the government to chalk out a strategy for Monday’s assembly session and decided on a plan to counter the opposition. The NC’s meeting was also attended by six MLAs of the Congress.
The J&K Congress, which is in alliance with the government, also held a legislature party meeting led by its president Tariq Karra to discuss the upcoming assembly session.
The autumn session of J&K assembly, which starts from Monday, will be held till September 30. The NC meeting was chaired by Dr Farooq Abdullah in the presence of Omar Abdullah, leader of the legislature party and chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir.
People in the know said that the ruling party decided to aggressively push back the opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “The UT governance gets impacted by the central government and the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA). So it is important to expose the BJP who are indirectly controlling the things here,” said an NC MLA part of the meeting.
“Our main push will be against the BJP who are responsible for the problems in J&K,” he alleged. “On the issues raised by local opposition, the CM gave an update of the conditions under which the government is functioning,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Our main push will be against the BJP who are responsible for the problems in J&K,” he alleged. “On the issues raised by local opposition, the CM gave an update of the conditions under which the government is functioning,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Addressing the legislators, Dr Farooq Abdullah urged them to accord priority to the concerns of the people and effectively highlight the issues, difficulties and demands of their respective constituencies during the assembly session.
He said the legislative assembly is a forum for raising public concerns, seeking answers from the government and holding meaningful discussions on matters of public interest.
“He emphasised that the primary responsibility of legislators is to effectively articulate the people’s concerns in the House and seek solutions to their problems from the government,” a party spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, J&K Congress Committee (JKPCC) president, Tariq Hameed Karra, said that the party won’t shy away from raising people’s genuine concerns in the assembly despite being in an alliance with the NC.
“Assembly is for raising questions and solving the issues of people,” Karra said. “We are in alliance with the NC and we are on a principled stand. Being in alliance does not mean we will not raise public issues. Being in alliance does not mean that we will not talk about people’s legitimate demands,” he said.
BJP to seek white paper on works done by NC in J&K
A fierce showdown is on the cards in the assembly as opposition gears up to corner the ruling NC and demand accountability. The government is preparing to tackle the opposition on the issues of reservation, power tariff and unemployment.
BJP said they will seek a white paper from the government over the work done by them.
“Our party will seek answers from the government over the work they have done. The government has been in power for two years which is not a short period. They have not performed to the expectations of the people,” said BJP president Sat Sharma.
Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi on Sunday urged the government to make reservation rationalisation, particularly the concerns of open merit candidates, a priority for discussion in the legislative assembly session beginning Monday.
“The government must make the cabinet sub-committee report on reservation rationalisation public and place it before the assembly for a transparent debate. There can be no meaningful discussion on an issue affecting the future of thousands of our youth if the report itself remains inaccessible to the public,” Inam Un Nabi said.
Nabi said AIP believes the concerns of open merit candidates must be addressed while protecting the legitimate rights of reserved communities.
Nabi said AIP supports a population-based reservation framework, as suggested by AIP president and Baramulla MP Er Rashid in Parliament, with representation rationalised at the district, divisional and UT levels.
He demanded that the government immediately make the sub-committee report public, disclose the data and criteria on which its recommendations are based, allow a substantive assembly debate and provide a time-bound roadmap for implementation.
“The youth deserve clarity, not secrecy. Let the report be made public, let the data be placed before the House and let elected representatives debate it openly. Open merit candidates deserve fairness, while the rights of reserved communities must remain protected. A transparent, population-based and data-driven framework can provide a credible way forward,” Nabi said.