Mir Farhat
SRINAGAR, Oct 1: Legislative Council today witnessed ruckus soon after it began as the Chairman Amrit Malhotra disallowed the adjournment motion on former Army General V K Singh’s “revelation” about Kashmiri politicians with opposition members of People’s Democratic Party walking out from the House.
PDP spokesman Nayeem Akhtar and National Panthers Party (NPP) member Rafiq Shah moved the adjournment motion on Army “funding” the Kashmir politicians, but the Chairman rejected their motion saying discussion on public issues is more important than the motion.
Akhtar retorted to the statement of Malhotra saying “after the revelations of the former Army General VK Singh on funding politicians, people are spitting at us (politicians). This House is nothing if it does not allow us to discuss the issue of VK Singh.”
Soon after, three other PDP members rose from their seats along with NPP’s Rafiq Shah creating a din in the House.
The members wanted that the Chairman suspend the question hour and admit the adjournment motion.
Malhotra interrupted and called on the members “to maintain decorum of the House and don’t think the House is a public platform or a fish market.”
Akhtar also questioned the chairman for disallowing the motion.
“Why was the motion disallowd? People are raising questions over whose agents we are?” he said.
In the meantime, Natnal Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar requested to the Chairman that discussion should be allowed on VK Singh.
Soon after, all four PDP members and Rafiq Shah walked out from the House making noisy scenes while leaving.
On their walk out, Sagar shouted “you (PDP members) are being exposed. It (walk out) speaks of your double standards; you don’t want to annoy any Army officer.”
Amid this ruckus, Khalid Najeeb Suhurwardy of NC shouted at Naeem Akhtar saying “you are a RAW agent.”
Mohammad Ashraf Mir of PDP shouted back at NC members and said some people were hijacking the “show”. “You are all agents of RAW, IB and ISI,” he shouted back at them.
At this moment, NC’s provincial president, Davinder Singh Rana said VK Singh’s issue should be discussed “as it is a very serious matter. There is no harm in admitting the adjournment motion.”
Rana said to the Chairman: “We want a discussion on the issue.. PDP members be called back into the House unanimously by all the members.”
Adjourning the House for half an hour, the Chairman said this was the first time in the history of the House that ruling party members were inviting back the opposition members for a discussion. He also allowed discussion on the adjournment motion of VK Singh.
Soon after the House resumed, Congress member Ghulam Nabi Monga rose from his seat and said whence the Chairman has disallowed the motion, “how can the ruling party members accept the motion without taking other members of the House into confidence?”
“Four members can’t hold the House hostage,” he said.
The PDP members didn’t join the House after the first adjournment. All the NC members in the House rose up from their seats and lashed out at the four PDP members for not joining the House despite being invited back for the discussion.
“Their (PDP members) absence from the House means they are not serious about the discussion on the statement made by former Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh,” the NC members said, shouting towards the Chairman.
Later, the Chairman adjourned the House for the whole day.
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