J-K: Speaker revokes suspension of all four NC members

The National Conference (NC) on Wednesday said it will continue to boycott the proceedings of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly even after the speaker revoked the suspension of two of its MLAs.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly speaker on Wednesday revoked the suspension of all four members of the National Conference (NC) who were ousted from the House on Tuesday over their demands for a debate on the issue of permanent residency in the state.

Kavinder Gupta, the speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, has revoked the suspension of two National Conference MLAs. (File Photo)

NC, the main opposition party in the state, has now said it will join the proceedings of the House from Thursday.

The party’s working president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, who had joined his party members in a sit-in protest outside the assembly earlier in the day, had said they will continue to boycott the proceedings even after the speaker revoked the suspension of two of its MLAs. They had demanded that the suspension of two of its council members must be revoked as well.

“Speakers of both assembly and council have played partisan politics. The government wanted to divide the opposition and we have decided to boycott proceedings until suspension of four members is not revoked,” Abdullah had said.

MLAs Altaf Kaloo and Abdul Majid Bhat (Larmi) were marshalled out of the assembly after the opposition benches moved towards the well of the House and starting protesting.

Abdullah had called the suspensions a “dictatorial practice” of the PDP-BJP coalition.

The NC wanted a discussion on strengthening article 35 A. A think tank, Jammu & Kashmir Study Centre, recently challenged the validity of the article in the Supreme Court, which has served a notice to the state government.

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