Jammu, Feb 9: Pandemonium in the J&K Legislative Assembly following the remarks by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para on Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), leading to verbal clash between the NC and PDP legislators, saw the adjournment of the House on Monday.
Adjournment cut short the first sitting by over half-an-hour as the Chief Whip of the National Conference Mubarak Gul, who was in the Chair at the time of uproar, adjourned the House till 2.30 pm as bedlam continued to persist.
During the bedlam, NC MLAs sparked another controversy involving Para alleging that he was having a mike in his pocket.
Later in the second sitting, the Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather ordered an investigation into the allegations levelled by NC legislators against Para vis-‡-vis mike controversy ñ a charge denied by PDP MLA and his colleagues.
Whole issue related to SASCI erupted in the first sitting, when Para, while participating in the general discussion on J&K budget presented by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on February 6, described it (SASCI) as the most dangerous scheme brought by the Chief Minister to J&K.
ìThey (treasury benches) are going gaga over SASCI. Earlier, our roads would be built under CRS or NREGA. SASCI is a loan. But it is not a loan of NABARD or that of RBI. It would put J&K in a debt trap like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh etc., as the loan under it is being procured from the market. This is Ambani-Adaniísloan,î he said.
ìYou are putting the entire J&K on sale. You are mortgaging J&K and the future of our children. I’ll request the Chief Minister to study it. This is the most dangerous thing you are doing to J&K. After fifty years, who is going to repay the SASCI loan? Our children will be burdened by it. SASCI is not a grant,î he alleged.
Agitated over his comments, the NC members were up on their legs countering him.
This led to a chaos in the House as the NC members and Ministers, too, started countering him.
ìWedonít want roads; we donít want development. Through SASCI, which the Chief Minister has brought without consultations, J&K will be ruined. I request all the Members ñ from BJP, Congress, Tarigami Sahib to discuss SASCI in the House, its implications in J&K. We will be failing J&K through this loan (SASCI). Instead of honouring your massive mandate to protect J&Kís interests, you are putting it on sale,î Para continued.
NC members kept on countering him. Para was joined by his party colleagues. The verbal duel led to total disorder in the House with many members speaking at the same time. NC members were accusing Para and his colleagues of playing politics over a development scheme ensuring an interest-free loan (financial aid .
Gul tried to restore order by repeatedly asking the members to take their seats. As it did not work and some of them continued to shout, the Chair instructed, ìNothing would be recorded.î
The House also witnessed heated exchange between Para and NC ministers, though their arguments drowned in the din. Para even sought a reply from the treasury benches. Upon this, Gul responded, ìThis is not the way or the procedure that you speak and after that immediately you will start asking for the reply. You will get the reply at the scheduled time.î
Following it, he announced the name of NC MLA Javaid Ahmad Mirchal. This irked BJP MLAs, who were already agitating that they were not being given time. They too started protesting. Gul tried to pacify them saying that he would give them time to speak after Mirchal by extending first sitting up to 2 pm.
At this point of time, one of the NC members alleged that Para was having a mike in his pocket.
Amid pandemonium and counter-(verbal) onslaught by NC MLAs and ministers, the Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary rose, addressing the Chair, ìSir, Waheed Sahib when speaks here, he keeps mike in his pocket and he addresses the public rally in his constituency. This is not done.î Para denied the charge.
While NC and PDP members were engaged in the verbal duel, BJP members too rose agitating against the Chair. Targetting both NC and PDP, they even staged an enmasse walkout amid slogans at 1.14 pm.
NC members also countered the slogans, accusing BJP and PDP in cahoots.
Amid this chaos, independent MLA from Langate Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh too joined the melee, pleading his own cause and also targeting NC.
He even tried to enter the well. While he made certain remarks objected to, by NC members, another duel started.
It even led to a kind of scuffle between NC members and Khursheed, though it was prevented by the Watch and Ward staff.
As the disorder persisted in the House despite his repeated attempts to restore order, Gul adjourned the House at 1.15 pm till 2.30 pm.
Para, earlier in his address before raising SASCI issue, questioned the spending power of the government stating that only 12 percent of expenditure was made so far with many projects in critical sectors, recording zero spending while Rs 1 lakh Cr was unspent.
He also flagged the issues of drug menace, increase in diesel prices, harassment of Kashmiri students outside J&K, closure of schools, rising cases of cancer, which he described as ìsilentpandemicî and demanded the return of Rs 50 Cr collected from the unemployed youth as job application fee.
Outside the legislature, while responding to media queries, Para defended his stance in the House, stating that he demanded a house committee chaired by Congress MLA Tariq Hameed Qarra to examine the implications of SASCI.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq, in response to media queries outside the J&K legislature, described the SASCI as a very ìinnovative, revolutionary scheme.î
ìOther states too are taking benefits of this scheme. It was not available to Union Territories (UTs) or UTs with assembly. However, due to personal interest shown by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his request, the Union Finance Minister extended it to J&K and also to Puducherry and Delhi. It will help push our infrastructure to metropolitan level. Waheed (Para) Sahib is misleading the House and the public, given his little knowledge about SASCI. It is regrettable and this shows a level of stupidity. He should study it first and then speak,î he said.
ìThose, who in 2014 put J&K to such a situation, by putting its interests at stake, should not teach us or issue us certificates,î Sadiq said.
Later, the House met for the second sitting at 2.36 pm to resume general discussion on the budget, during the proceedings, NC MLA Altaf Kaloo raised the issue of Para carrying mike in his pocket as point of order.
Addressing the Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, Kaloo stated, ìWhen you were not in the chair, Waheed Para brought mike in the House. Please take action against him.î
The Speaker said, ìThis is childish behaviour for an MLA. Should I order the frisking of MLAs? MLAs are referred to as honourable. If we bring a mike stealthily in the House. This is not done. This is disrespectful and Iíll take strong note of it. Iíll ask my assembly secretariat to examine this issue. If the allegations are proved correct, then strictly in accordance with the rules of the assembly, action will be taken.î
PDP MLA Fayaz MLA stated that it was not mike. Speaker said, ìDonít try to defend the indefensible. Let me examine myself. Iíll proceed after the report of my assembly secretariat staff following the examination.î
Sheikh Khursheed urged the Chair to take action against Kaloo also, who, he alleged, used to disturb every member. Speaker assured that he would look into that also.
Second sitting also witnessed uproar and heated arguments between the Deputy Chief Minister joined by NC members and the BJP legislators over Katra ropeway issue.
The issue was raised by Choudhary, when the BJP MLA Baldev Raj Sharma while participating in the debate supported the construction of the ropeway.
The Deputy Chief Minister accused the BJP of working against the interests of different sections of Reasi people, who were opposing its construction. The BJP leader referred to the court order and the projectís clearance by the J&K cabinet following National Green Tribunalís directions. However, Choudhary said that it could not be constructed in a dictatorial manner against the wishes of people. He was supported by NC members.
Upon this, the BJP legislators, including R S Pathania, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Pawan Gupta and others, rose, levelling allegations against the Deputy Chief Minister. They raised slogans against the illegal mining mafia, allegedly operating under the nose of the government. NC members too raised counter slogans.
For 11 minutes, the proceedings in the House remained disrupted.
