Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 9: The National Conference-Congress Joint Legislature Party tonight decided to take on the Opposition collectively during last budget session of the present dispensation, beginning tomorrow with the Governor Address amidst indications that the Opposition parties were planning to go all out against the Government on a host of issues.
The coalition strategy was devised during a joint dinner meeting of the NC and Congress Legislature Parties held at the official residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Omar, who presided over the Alliance meeting, said the coalition was well placed to counter the opposition charges as developments of past two week had given it an edge.
Mentioning the creation of 659 administrative units and implementation of 73rd amendment’s provisions in the Panchayati Raj Act as historic achievements of the coalition Government, he called upon the coalition Ministers and legislators to highlight them in both the Houses.
Omar told the legislators to go to both the Houses with the achievements of development and other planks and counter the Opposition with facts and figures. At the same time, he asked them not to overreact to the Opposition charges.
Apart from NC and Congress legislators, their two allies-Charanjit Singh (MLA Kathua) and Tsetan Namgayal (MLA Nobra) were also present in the meeting. However, MY Tarigami and Hakim Mohammad Yasin, who were now part of the Third Front and Independent MLA from Langet Engineer Rashid didn’t join the meeting.
Besides Omar, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir also addressed the legislators and apprised them of the coalition’s achievements and strategy to counter the Opposition.
This would be 11th session of 11th Assembly and most likely second last session of the Legislature as the State was scheduled to go to Assembly elections in November-December this year. A final session of the Legislature could be held in September-October in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State, before imposition of Model Code of Conduct for the Assembly polls.
The PDP Legislature Party is scheduled to meet at 6 pm tomorrow at former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s residence to devise the party strategy and issues to be taken up in the budget session of the two Houses. The PDP was likely to rake up Pathribal case, areas left out in creation of administrative units, molestation charges on former Minister Shabir Khan and human rights violations etc.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Alliance legislators would maintain patience during Governor Address as there were reports that opposition parties like PDP, BJP, NPP and JSM could raise their issues for few minutes before the Address. The coalition legislators wouldn’t react to the charges to facilitate smooth address by the Governor, which would be his last in the present Government.
However, the Alliance legislators wouldn’t allow the Opposition to prevail upon them inside the two Houses when they formally meet from Tuesday after obituary reference on Monday. The coalition MLAs have decided to counter the Opposition charges effectively.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the coalition legislators not to get swayed by the provocations of the Opposition parties and maintain decorum and discipline in the House. He said the Opposition parties would try to provoke the coalition members and create a wedge between them but they had to see through their designs and reply to the charges unitedly.
Sources said ruling National Conference would itself rake up the issue of Pathribal encounter case closure by the Army if the PDP decided to create uproar on it. The NC too would seek re-opening of the case.
However, on the issue of creation of new administrative units, the Government would defend itself describing the decision as “historic step” taken after several years. Sources said some of the MLAs, whose constituencies have been deprived of new administrative units, were likely to vociferously project their demands in the Assembly.
The coalition could face embarrassing questions on molestation charges on former Minister for Health Shabir Khan, a Congress MLA from Rajouri, who had to quit after police registered a FIR on him. The Opposition was likely to seek immediate arrest of Mr Khan if he was not arrested by the start of the session.
Sources said it was not only the PDP, BJP, NPP, JSM and Independent Engineer Rashid, who could create trouble for the Government but two MLAs of newly floated `Third Front’-MY Tarigami and Hakim Mohammad Yasin could also take on the Alliance.
The resurgent BJP after the return of five MLAs took its strength from four to nine in the Assembly, the National Panthers Party and the Jammu State Morcha were likely to highlight the issues of discrimination with Jammu and Ladakh, problems of refugees, delimitation of Assembly constituencies, unemployment, lack of development etc.
Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather would present budget in the Assembly for 2014-15 on February 13. The budget was scheduled to be passed on February 25 as the Government was expecting imposition of Model Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha election by the end of February or start of March.
Earlier in the day, Speaker Mubarak Gul also called a meeting of Legislature Party leaders and chief whips in the Assembly of all parties and sought their cooperation in smooth running of the Assembly session.
The legislators belonging to different political parties assured full cooperation in the smooth conduct of the session.
Mr Gul, who chaired the all party meeting here in the run up to Assembly session, said that he would provide ample time and opportunities to the legislators to highlight public-centric issues for seeking redress of the problems faced by the people and highlighted by their representatives in the House.
The representatives of various political parties included Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Deputy Speaker Mohammad Sartaj Madni, Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Mir Saifullah, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, Hakeem Mohammad Yasin, M Y Tarigami, Mohammad Sharief Niaz, Ashok Khajuria, Abdul Rehman Veeri and Peer Aafaq Ahmad were of the unanimous view that the Assembly session should run as per established convention of Parliamentary democracy.
The Speaker said that the legislators should try to highlight maximum issues of public importance of their respective areas during the session. He said that the Question Hour is important and it should be run in a cordial manner so that maximum Questions are raised in the House for discussion adding that every party will be given due time in Question Hour.
He said that all political parties should take advantage of this session to highlight the important issues adding that it also gives ample opportunities to the legislators to make the executive accountable for improving governance. He stressed for joint efforts to ensure smooth running of the House.
While highlighting the importance of Zero Hour, Mr Gul said that the Government has been made accountable to ensure the presence of officers of essential department in Officers’ gallery during the session. He said the officers have been asked to furnish Action Taken Reports of the queries raised by the legislator to the Assembly Secretariat.
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand said that the members should rise above their political ideologies and try to raise the maximum issues of public importance during the session.
Secretary Assembly Mohammad Ramzan and other officers of Assembly Secretariat were present in the meeting.
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