Serious concern over security situation
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Nov 3: Ahead of the first Assembly session of the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, the ruling alliance of National Conference and Congress today held a meeting about its functioning and raised concern over the emerging security situation in Kashmir.
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The NC and Congress first held separate Legislature Party meetings in Srinagar that were followed by a joint meeting of the coalition partners and included the five Independents and the lone legislator of CPI (M) Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami.
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The NC meeting was chaired by its Legislature Party leader and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while the Congress meeting was chaired by its president Tariq Hameed Karra.
Congress and NC said that the parties discussed the strategy of debating on the address of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in the Assembly tomorrow and how to tackle the opposition BJP in the Assembly.
The meeting also discussed the recent spurt in militant attacks in Kashmir in which 15 people, mostly security forces and migrant workers, were targeted.
Senior Congress leader and its former chief and MLA Dooru, GA Mir, told Excelsior that the meeting held with all coalition partners provided a briefing on the proceedings for the next four days. “The LG will address the Assembly tomorrow, followed by the CM’s response,” he said.
NC MLA Banihal, Sajad Shaheen, told Excelsior that the meeting discussed the first Assembly session that is being held from tomorrow. “The top priority will be addressing the issues and aspirations of people from our constituencies. Concerns were raised over the emerging security situation in the Valley, which is a serious matter,” he said.
Shameema Firdous told Excelsior that the alliance partners who attended the meeting agreed to listen to the Lieutenant Governor’s address and respond accordingly.
The parties decided that NC senior leader and MLA from the Charar-e-Sharief Assembly segment Abdul Rahim Rather will be elected as the Speaker of the UT Assembly.
The alliance has a strength of 55 legislators in the House, which includes the 42 Legislators of the NC, six of Congress, five Independents, who are supporting NC and the single CPI (M) Legislator Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami.
Bharatiya Janata Party, which elected MLA Sunil Sharma as its Leader of the Opposition, has 28 Legislators. It won 29 seats in Jammu but due to the death of its MLA Devender Singh Rana, its number has reduced to 28.
The five-day session will be held tomorrow and as per the calendar issued by the Speaker Pro-tem Mubarak Gul, the Assembly will elect the Speaker first. The election of the Speaker will be followed by the address of the LG. The LG’s address will set the stage for the debate for the subsequent proceedings.
On November 5, the House will pay obituary references to the MLAs, who passed away since the last session of the erstwhile Assembly. This solemn tribute will acknowledge the contributions of departed leaders.
From November 6 to 7, the focus will shift to a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the Lieutenant Governor’s address. The last day of the session will witness a discussion on the Motion of Thanks and reply thereto.
Stringent security measures have been put in place for the Assembly session following a grenade attack in Srinagar and killing of a top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Usman Bhai during a day long encounter in Khanyar area of Srinagar.
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