Will be briefed on Rules, Regulations of House
*NC has highest first-time legislators followed by BJP
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 2: The Legislative Assembly proposes to hold training session in the form of expert lectures for new MLAs in the House whose number is more than 50 percent of total strength of the Legislature and some of them indulged in unprecedented protests during first brief five-day session in Srinagar from November 4 to 8.
In 90-member House, there are 88 MLAs with two vacancies and 51 of them are first-time MLAs though a couple of them have earlier served as Members of the Parliament.
An unprecedented uproar occurred in the Legislative Assembly for three out of five days session after a resolution moved by the National Conference Government on restoration of special status and Constitutional guarantees of Jammu and Kashmir was passed.
There are 24 first-time MLAs of the National Conference followed by 15 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), six Independents, three of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), two from Congress and one of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
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Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather told the Excelsior that a training session by the experts will be held in Jammu for first-time MLAs to brief them on Rules and Regulations governing the Legislature. He recalled that in 2015 when a large number of new MLAs won the Assembly elections, the then Chief Minister late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had held similar session in which he was invited to lecture the new comers on Rules and Procedures of the House.
Sources said the new MLAs need to be awared of working of the Legislative Assembly. Many States hold similar sessions for first-time MLAs from the experts to ensure that the legislators are well aware of Rules and Procedures of the House and every time the Speaker or the Chairperson is not required to lecture them.
Describing the decision for holding training session of new MLAs as “good move’’, the experts said this will be in the interest of the legislators as they will get to take advice of the experts and improve their working inside the House.
While five-day session of the Legislative Assembly held from November 4-8 was first of the new Government headed by Omar Abdullah, the budget session which is scheduled to be held in Jammu in January-February is expected to be lengthy.
The National Conference (NC), which has emerged as the single-largest party in the election with 42 seats, has the highest number of debutant MLAs at 24.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which swept the polls in the Jammu winning 29 seats, is second in terms of seats won as well as the number of first-time MLAs. The saffron party has 15 first-time MLAs, accounting for more than half of its tally.
The Congress has two debutant MLAs while six of the seven Independent candidates who won the polls have become members of the elite House for the first time.
All three elected members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the lone Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA are first timers in the Assembly.
Several newly-elected MLAs have been members of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or the Legislative Council in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. Among them is former High Court Judge and NC leader Hasnain Masoodi, who was a member of the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024.
PDP leader Mir Mohammad Fayaz, who won the electoral contest from Kupwara, was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2015 to 2021.
NC leaders Surinder Kumar Choudhary (Deputy Chief Minister) Bashir Ahmad Veeri (Srigufwara-Bijbehara), Saifuddin Bhat (Khansahib), Javaid Ahmad Mirchal (Karnah) and Showkat Hussain Ganie (Zainapora) have in the past been members of the Legislative Council.
From the BJP, Vikram Randhawa, who won the Bahu seat in Jammu, was a member of the Upper House of the Legislature in the past.
The Upper House of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature was abolished following reorganisation of the erstwhile State into two Union Territories.
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