‘Gundagardi nahi chalegi’: Noisy scenes mar first day of autumn session of J&K Assembly

The autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly commenced with tumultuous behavior inside the premises as members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested against the Omar Abdullah government over a variety of concerns. The opposition benches retaliated by raising the issue of restoring statehood. As the commotion persisted, the House was adjourned for the day at 11 am.

On Monday, when the session kicked off, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather read out obituary references for former members of the House who had passed away since the Budget session, including the former minister Mustafa Kamal. Just as he finished, BJP members, including the Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, began raising slogans against the government, some even venturing into the Well of the House.

CPIM leader M Y Tarigami stood up from his seat in the Treasury benches to rebut the BJP, saying, “Another slogan should be raised here, which is that despite two years of an elected government having taken over, statehood has not been restored.” Both Congress and National Conference (NC) legislators then chimed in by raising slogans against the BJP.

The protests continued even after Speaker Rather asked for the question hour to proceed and cautioned the BJP members of potential consequences. “Gundagardi nahi chalegi (Hooliganism will not be allowed),” he warned the protesting members. Despite the uproar, some legislators managed to present their questions. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary also addressed the Opposition, stating that the government was willing to answer all inquiries, “but they should ask them one by one.”

He declared, “We are prepared to respond to all issues. It seems that they (the Opposition) are not interested in public welfare.” Outside the Assembly, the Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, expressed that Omar Abdullah had made grand promises to the people. However, he argued that, despite two years of the government in power, the Chief Minister merely reiterated his lack of power and the government's inability to function.

Sharma claimed that the government had failed to provide basic amenities within two years, corruption was rampant, daily wage earners were on the streets, and every section of society felt betrayed. He also criticized the government for outsourcing government jobs, calling for greater transparency in the process. “It is our responsibility as the principal Opposition party to hold the government accountable in the Assembly.

The government of India is committed to restoring statehood. If the response to every query and every issue is statehood, then dissolve this (the current) set-up,” Sharma stated.