Clashes in J&K House on Art 370 resolution
“The resolution on the restoration of special status is unconstitutional,” Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma said inside the House
A Jammu & Kashmir assembly resolution calling for the restoration of Article 370 sparked pandemonium and scuffles on Thursday as lawmakers shouted slogans, tore posters, and jostled with each other, underlining the deep divisions over the emotive issue in the first session of the House since the tectonic changes five years ago.
Chaos engulfed the assembly on the fourth day of the special session, a day after the House passed a resolution calling on the “Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives” to bring back the region’s special status, scrapped in 2019. Lawmakers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had opposed the resolution, dialled up their protest, leading to angry exchanges and the eviction of three legislators.
“The resolution on the restoration of special status is unconstitutional,” Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma said inside the House.
The disorder began as soon as the House convened with slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (Hail Mother India), “Take back the resolution” from the BJP’s side and “Jis Kashmir ko khoon se seencha wo kashmir hamara hai” (The Kashmir that we watered with our blood is ours ), “Jammu Kashmir ki awaaz kia? 370 aur kya” (What does J&K want? Article 370) from National Conference legislators echoing in the assembly.
Amid the din, independent lawmaker Sheikh Khursheed, the brother of jailed MP Engineer Rashid, came to the Well of the House with a banner, which demanded the restoration of Article 370 and the release of all political prisoners. BJP legislators also stormed the Well and snatched the banner away from Khursheed. People’s Conference president Sajad Lone, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para , and a group of National Conference (NC) MLAs attempted to grab the banner back from the BJP leaders, leading to a scuffle. As chaos ensued, speaker Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the House for 15 minutes.
“What other option did we have? The banner talked about (abrogation of) Article 370 and Article 35A, which we condemn. But this did not go down well with the BJP. Even if they continue to attack us, we will continue to raise our voices,” Khursheed said.
BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakar said no amount of agitation would bring back Article 370. “Even if there are hundreds of resolutions or posters in assembly, it won’t bring back Article 370. It is not in the jurisdiction of the assembly. Even Supreme Court put its stamp on the revocation. Now, everybody is doing its politics by raising posters or other things. This is just to deceive Kashmiri people,” Thakar said.
Chaos and disruption escalated when the House reconvened as BJP leaders continued with their protest. “I will give you the opportunity to speak, please take your seats. You are not above the rules. I have closely watched the activities of some members, don’t force me to do something that I don’t want to,” Rather said to Sharma.
The BJP leaders, however, continued protesting. “The National Conference should end the drama over special status, which caused bloodshed here,” Sharma said amid sloganeering from both the government and Opposition sides.
At this time, at least five BJP MLAs stormed the Well of the House again. The speaker then directed the marshals to evict four BJP MLAs — Vikram Randhawa, Yudhvir Sethi, RS Pathania and Arvind Gupta —leading to a fresh scuffle between the lawmakers and assembly officials. “They deserve it, throw them out,” the speaker said and adjourned the House for the day.
The disruptions in the first session of the assembly in six years highlighted the divisions in the region over the revocation of its special status, and how tempers continued to run high over the emotive issue that was seen as part of the erstwhile state’s identity.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre revoked Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to the region, and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs — J&K with an assembly and Ladakh without one.
Article 370, which came into effect in October 1949, granted Kashmir autonomy of internal administration, allowing it to make its own laws in all matters except finance, defence, foreign affairs, and communications. One of its key features was that central laws passed by Parliament did not automatically apply to the erstwhile state of J&K, and it was the right of the state legislature to approve them by passing a parallel act. Article 35A, a further provision added to Article 370 in 1954, empowered state lawmakers to ensure special rights and privileges for permanent residents of the state.
Last year, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously endorsed the Union government’s August 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370, calling the move the “culmination of the process of integration” of the erstwhile state into the Union of India.
The campaign in the recently held J&K assembly elections – the first in a decade, and also the first since the changes – was dominated by issues of Article 370 and the region’s autonomy, with the National Conference-led alliance and other regional parties calling for its restoration and the BJP hailing its revocation. The NC won 42 out of the 90 seats in the polls, and its ally Congress won six. With the support of six MLAs from Congress, one MLA from pre-poll ally CPI(M), one from the Aam Aadmi Party, and five independents, the NC-led coalition reached the tally of 55. The BJP has 28 members in the House and the PDP three.
The BJP targeted the resolution in Delhi, with former Union minister Smriti Irani saying that it was “against the Constitution and the directions of the Supreme Court”.
“Today, I stand as an Indian outraged at the attempt by the Congress-led INDI alliance to bring to the floor of the House a resolution that is against the Indian Constitution. A resolution that stands against the Indian Constitution and the opinion of the Supreme Court of India,” she said in a press conference in the Capital.
In Srinagar, the party hit out at the speaker, accusing him of bias. “It’s unfortunate that the speaker acted like an agent of the National Conference. He helped pass a resolution which has no constitutional validity. He’s behaving like the MLA of a party,” Sharma said.
Rather rejected the charge and asked the BJP to follow due procedure. “If they do not have faith in the Chair, shouting slogans is still not the way. There is a procedure of no-confidence motion. They should bring a no-confidence motion. If the House passes it, I will go back on my own whether any member tells me or not,” he said.
The speaker added that he did not have the power to annul a resolution that was passed by the assembly. “They are asking the speaker to take the resolution back. The speaker does not have the power. Anything passed by the House can only be undone by the House itself,” he added.
NC leader and J&K deputy CM Surinder Kumar Choudhary hit out at the BJP.
“We are the ones who want to strengthen Bharat Mata. These people [BJP] are the ones who don’t want to strengthen the country but only themselves. The National Conference is with the poor people, while those people (Opposition) are with the rich,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PDP, PC, and two independent MLAs tried to introduce a fresh resolution demanding immediate restoration of Articles 370 and 35-A in their original form and calling for reversal of changes brought about by the J&K Reorganisation act, 2019. However, they could not table the document due to the din.
“They (NC) brought a vague resolution. We want that abrogation of Article 370 be condemned and restoration of (Articles) 370 and 35A be mentioned (in the resolution). This is what we have put in the resolution, and this is what people of Jammu and Kashmir want,” Para said.
