Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: Six National Conference and Congress MLAs today staged a walkout from the Assembly over the Government’s “unsatisfactory reply” on the issue of power crisis in the State and border shelling which has claimed 12 lives since Thursday.
NC MLA and former Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar was the first to leave the House and was followed by party legislators Altaf Ahmad Wani ‘Kaloo’ and Javaid Rana and Congress members Vikar Rasool, Usman Majeed and G M Saroori.
Opposition members staged the walkout as Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, who holds the Power Development Department, was replying to questions and supplementary raised by various members related to the power crisis in the State.
Sagar took a dig at the Government for its alleged “failure” to deal with the power crisis in the State especially in Kashmir valley.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister A R Veeri intervened and asked Sagar to take his seat.
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However, Sagar continued to stand on his seat till he was allowed to speak and raise issues.
“The border firing (by Pakistan) is continuing, claiming 12 lives. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti yesterday said the State will not be allowed to become a battlefield but Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement (that India has shown it can attack its enemies not only on its soil, but also in a foreign territory, if need be).
“We stand with the statement of the Chief Minister as we are suffering (because of border skirmishes between the two countries),” he said and criticized the State Government for its failure to send a message of peace from the House.
Sagar also accused Speaker Kavinder Gupta of not giving time to the Opposition on the directions of unidentified forces.
“When the opposition raises any issue, our voice is muzzled. The Power Minister has accepted that the work was stopped on Alasteng, Budgam and Telbal grid stations. When the contractor has left, how the power supply will be made available to the people?’’ Sagar asked.
He said the people of Kashmir are suffering immensely due to non-availability of power in sub-zero temperature and there is no end in sight as at least three more years are required for completion of these projects if the Government was able to rope in contractors in time.
“I asked the Government not to make the availability of power an issue between Kashmir and Jammu. Both regions need power supply but the demand is more in the valley due to winter,” he told reporters after staging walk-out in the Assembly and added that the Deputy Chief Minister made no specific reply on how to tackle the power crisis in the valley.
Congress MLAs GM Saroori, Usmaan Majid and Waqar Rasool and NC MLA Altaf Ahmad Wani ‘Kalloo’ also staged walk-out in the Assembly on power crisis and not being allowed to raise supplementaries. NC MLA from Mendhar Javed Rana walked-out on people’s plight during mortar shelling by Pakistan in Mendhar and Balakote sectors and seeking steps to protect the people.
Earlier as the Speaker took the chair, several opposition members rose to their feet and raised the issue of alleged baton-charge on people protesting the brutal murder of an eight-year-old girl in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district yesterday, arrest of a youth in Meerut and alleged highhandedness of security forces during the course of a search operation in a village in Homeshalibugh constituency.
NC MLA Ishfaq Jabbar raised the concerns of the people of Ganderbal district and said they are apprehensive about stopping of work on Central University there and fear shifting of the varsity.
However, Education Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari assured the House that there is no proposal to shift the Central University from the district.
NC MLA and former Speaker Mubarak Gul raised the issue of border firing saying the people were suffering and there was no major relief being given to them.
“The Centre has also promised bunkers for them, which have not been constructed so far,’’ Gul said and wanted to know why the Government was silent on such major issues.
Choudhary Akram, Congress MLA from Surankote said a boy from his constituency had gone to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh for labour but has been arrested there. He sought Government’s intervention for release of the boy.
GM Saroori, Congress MLA and Independent Hakim Mohammad Yasin raised the issue of lathicharge on people at Hiranagar, who were protesting the killing of minor Bakerwal girl and demanded reply from the Government.
They alleged that the protesters were beaten-up by the cops.
NC MLA Abdul Majid Larmi said security forces beat-up the people and destroyed property in his constituency.
“If security forces are searching a militant, what is the fault of his family and relatives’’? he asked.
BJP MLA from Kathua Rajiv Jasrotia demanded lifting of ban on Khair wood.
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