Jammu and Kashmir in nutshell today:Drama in Jamm and Kashmir assembly

Amid continuous clashes in Assembly, Cong comes closer to PDP, Panthers to NCOn day 2 of failed business, Govt hints at aborting session

From Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 22: Continuous clashes on varied issues between the Opposition and the ruling coalition on the second consecutive day in the Legislative Assembly today concluded with the senior Congress leader and Minister incharge CAPD Taj Mohiuddin's revelation that the Government would ask the Speaker to adjourn the current session sine die if National Conference (NC) persisted with its 'tactics of disrupting the business'. The House witnessed mayhem as NC's MLAs from Kupwara sought "justice" to their district and three of the Panthers Party's MLAs demanded revocation of the suspension of their colleague Harsh Dev Singh who had been punished on Tuesday for allegedly threatening to murder Minister for Rural Development, Jugal Kishore Sharma.

"We are seriously thinking to request the Speaker to adjourn this session sine die if National Conference did not discard its tactics of disrupting the business in the House", Taj Mohiuddin threatened at an interaction with media on premises of Legislative Assembly. According to him, the "real cause" of NC's indignation was that the senior PDP leader and Minister incharge Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Tariq Hameed Qarra, had touched some sensitive nerves of the Opposition leaders by exposing their "doublespeak".

He said it was utterly unfortunate that senior NC leaders, who have been members of the House for over 25 years, used "derogatory language" to silence Mr Qarra. "They shouted that the Minister had gone mad", Taj referred to the leader of the Opposition Abdul Rahim Rather's unexpunged remarks on the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Speaking on behalf of his Congress party, Taj said: "We endorse each and every word of the Law Minister".

Taj's outburst came minutes after he came out of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's chambers, clearly to express his party's solidarity with the ruling coalition sibling. He was escorted to the dais by a number of the coalition MLAs and Ministers, notably PDP's Abdul Aziz Zargar and Dilawar Mir besides Jugal Kishore of Congress. Taj and Zargar accosted the journalists immediately after NC's Abdul Rahim Rather and Panthers Party's Balwant Singh Mankotia lashed out on the coalition Government separately at a platform created by the State Information Department. Both, Taj and Zargar held NC and PP members responsible for disrupting the business and "playing with the sentiments of the people". They said that the Opposition had run out of the issues and was taking refuge under "cheap histrionics". Rather and Mankotia had earlier separately put the blame of disrupting the business on the Treasury Benches.
Briefing mediapersons, Rather said that in his earlier statement in the Assembly today, Mr Qarra had presented himself as a "mad man". "As everything was turning calm, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister got up without any reason and made an impromptu outburst on the Opposition. I did seriously realise that the Minister had turned mad. I told the Speaker that the Minister had some mental problem and was in need of a medical examination. I told him that we had a well equipped mental hospital with qualified doctors here", an unusually irritated Rather vomitted.

He alleged that the Law Minister's tantrums, coupled with the Speaker's repeated orders of adjournment, were "part of a conspiracy to scuttle business of the House". In his briefing, Mankotia lamented that the Speaker had taken extreme action against Harsh Dev Singh for a disputed incident that had occurred outside the Assembly but he had not explained under what rule of the business he had entertained the Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma's motion and hastily expelled an elected representative.

NC's, PP's and the coalition's briefings and counter-briefings were understandably preceded by hours of unruly scenes on day three of the current session in Assembly. With the Speaker's arrival, three of NC's MLAs from Kupwara---Kafeel-ur-Rehman, Qaisar Jamsheed Lone and Mir Saifullah---emerged on the well while shouting slogans and seeking "justice" to their backward district in development. Wearing black aprons, emblazoned with bold slogans in Urdu, all the three MLAs continued with their dramatic demonstration, forcing the Speaker to order an adjournment of 10 minutes. Proceedings, however, resumed after a pause of one hour. When the agitating MLAs, supported by many of their party colleagues from their seats, persisted with the drama, their own party colleague and Deputy Speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone, who was this time in chair, ordered watch and ward staff to take them out.

Even as everybody seemed to be appreciative of the Deputy Speaker's action and Speaker Tara Chand took the seat in a relaxed atmosphere, Mr Rather got up and requested Mr Tara Chand to withdraw Harsh Dev Singh's suspension for rest of the session. Speaker told him that he had received the submission and would consider it properly before coming up with his decision. On this occasion, NC's senior leader Ali Mohammad Sagar too got up and began disputing the penal action against the PP's MLA as "unwarranted, unjustified and unconstitutional". It immediately ignited all three of the PP MLAs who began shouting volleys of slogans and occupied the well. As the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr Qarra got up and began making a statement, PP's Balwant Singh Mankotia began gesticulating and snatched away his microphone. This prompted the watch and ward staff to quickly run to the Minister's rescue and drag out all three of the PP MLAs.

Taking umbrage on the ruckus caused by the NC and the PP MLAs over Harsh Dev's suspension, Qarra turned bitter and directed his ire on Rather. Continuing his hard-hitting speech, he slapped the accusation of "doublespeak" on Rather and shouted that the latter had proved himself as incompetent in functioning as Leader of the Opposition. "Mr Rather, don't you have any control on your members. This pandemonium has questioned your competence as Leader of the Opposition", he shouted on the NC leader. He claimed that Mr Rather had assured maintenance of order from the Opposition in his meetings with the Minister and the Speaker but he was encouraging and provoking a many members in the Opposition to create mayhem.

"This is all a drama to demonstrate to the media as you people have no issue to confront the Government. Why doesn't the Leader of Opposition know as to where the black aprons of his MLAs came from. We'll hold you accountable--- in the people's court", Qarra grumbled and evoked louder slogans from the Opposition. "Mr Speaker, you'll have to think if this House could run with this pandemonium. You'll have to take an appropriate decision", Qarra directed on the Speaker.
As Qarra paused with thumping of desks in his praise by several PDP and Congress members, Rather retorted in the din of anti-Government slogans by NC MLAs that the Minister incharge Parliamentary Affairs had turned "mad". This prompted Speaker Mr Tara Chand to adjourn the business till tomorrow. Significantly, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was present in his chambers and also visited a medical camp outside on Shergarhi Lawns, distanced himself from the mayhem and did not enter the House.
Three-hour-long drama on the floor of Assembly came at the cost of authorities subjecting hundreds of thousands of people to untold suffering outside. Entire public movement remains frozen in the top business streets of Budshah Chowk, Maisuma, Koker Bazar, Jehangir Chowk and parts of Hari Singh High Street from beginning to end of every day's business in the Legislature. While the shopkeepers have been complaining losses worth Rs 20 to 50 cr every day, residents and other commuters have got to live in a curfew-like situation. Any demand of relaxation is being perceived by the authorities as comprise to security guidelines.

Speaker's announcement of adjournment was quickly followed by leaders of all the political parties approaching media and attempting to convince them that their rivals were responsible for failure of business on yesterday and today. When journalists asked Taj Mohiuddin why the session had not been held at SKICC if the Government, according to him, was really concerned about the people's suffering outside, he pleaded that the convention complex had been booked by different parties one to two years in advance. He said it was impossible for the Government to disturb the conferences at SKICC. When it was pointed out to him that no international conference was booked at SKICC during the current session of legislature, he said that he would check the records.

While Minister for Rural Development, Jugal Kishore, explained to the journalists as to how and why the PP members had been threatening and abusing him for "pre-empting the exploitation of Talwara migrants" in Reasi area, PP's President and MLC Bhim Singh spread fire in all directions, with the exception of NC and BJP. He alleged that Jammu Police had unleashed a reign of terror on his workers and Talwara migrants on the directions of Chief Minister and senior Police officials in Jammu. He alleged that most of the Congress party's MLAs and Ministers had swindled an amount of Rs 70 cr which Government of India had provided for the relief of Talwara migrants on a direction from Supreme Court. In an explicit allegation, he claimed that Taj Mohiuddin had grabbed 500 kanals of land at river Tawi in Jammu city in addition to spending Rs 5 cr of State exchequer on his private bungalow. He held out a threat that his party would continue agitation until Harsh Dev Singh's suspension was revoked by the Speaker.