Jammu and Kashmir minister wants opposition MLA to salute him in Assembly

State finance minister Haseeb Drabu wants National Conference MLA Devender Rana to salute him from the Well while participating in the discussion on GST resolution.

Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Haseeb Drabu made two rather unusual requests to Speaker of the Assembly Kavinder Gupta on Friday.

Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Haseeb Drabu addresses to pass the state GST bill on the last day of special session of legislative assembly in Srinagar on Friday. (PTI)

He sought separate directions to two opposition MLAs — one to salute him from the Well of the House and other to resign as a legislator.

He claimed that National Conference MLA Devender Rana, while participating in the discussion on the Goods and Services Tax resolution, had said he would salute him from the Well if the constitutional safeguards were included in the preamble of the presidential order on the implementation of the GST in Jammu and Kashmir.

“A direction may be given that he (Rana) salutes me whenever the next session takes place as he is not present in the House today (Friday),” Drabu said, prompting everyone present, including media and those at the visitors’ gallery, to burst into laughter.

Referring to Congress legislator GM Saroori’s remark that if the safeguards were included in the presidential order on GST, he would put in his papers, the minister said a direction should now be issued to the opposition MLA asking him to resign as the condition set by him was fulfilled.