With the ruckus in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly enter third day over a special status resolution, the Opposition BJP on Friday held a mock session in the lawns of the House after half of its members were marshalled out while the other half staged a walk out of the Assembly to protest against the abrogation of Article 370 resolution.
MLAs from the Opposition BJP assembled on the Assembly lawns and staged a mock assembly in which they described the House resolution on the restoration of special status as “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
The saffron party leaders said the mock assembly was to protest against the National Conference (NC), which has “hijacked the House”.
“The House is hijacked by the NC. We won’t allow this to happen. A constitutional crisis has been brought about by the NC. They have violated the rules,” BJP MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia said.
Speaking to reporters, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather said: ”The House ran smoothly today. Some tried to disrupt, but I acted within the law. Special status is part of Article 370 —whether you call it special status or 370, it’s the same.”
A brawl broke out today between BJP MLAs and assembly marshals after the Speaker directed the eviction of Opposition members who had stormed the well during a protest over the special status resolution.
As BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma spoke about the resolution, Awami Ittehad Party leader and MLA Langate Sheikh Khursheed jumped into the well, displaying a banner that read, “Restore Articles 370 and 35A.” This infuriated the BJP members, who also jumped into the well, snatched the banner, and tore it into pieces.
The BJP members raised slogans such as “Balidaan huway jahan Mukherjee, woh Kashmir hamara hai,” while NC MLAs responded with, “Jis Kashmir ko khoon se seencha, woh Kashmir hamara hai.”
Twelve BJP MLAs were escorted out of the House after protesting against the resolution, while eleven party MLAs later walked out. There are currently 28 BJP MLAs in the House, which has a total strength of 88.
Following the passage of the resolution on Wednesday, the House witnessed significant uproar as BJP members protested vigorously, causing frequent disruptions to the proceedings. Eventually, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day.
JK Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary moved the resolution, stating, “This legislative assembly reaffirms the importance of special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguard the identity, culture, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal.”