Speaker rejects NC, allies’ adjournment motion on Waqf bill
Business including Statehood Resolutions not taken up, lapses
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 7: The Legislative Assembly today witnessed unprecedented ruckus leading to adjournment of the House proceedings thrice and finally till tomorrow without transacting any major business except for a message read by the Secretary as Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather rejected adjournment motion moved by nine MLAs of NC and other parties seeking suspension of day’s business to discuss Waqf bill passed by the Parliament.
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Sloganeering and counter sloganeering between Alliance and Opposition BJP MLAs, heated exchanges and finally a virtual scuffle took place inside the House till the Speaker adjourned the House till tomorrow at 1.25 PM.
Rather adjourned the House twice but every time it resumed sitting, all treasury benches as well as Opposition MLAs were on their feet trading charges, slogans and exchanges on Waqf bill. Repeated appeals by the Speaker to the MLAs from NC and Congress who were close to Well of the House failed to have any impact on the agitated legislators plunging the House into complete pandemonium with nothing audible most of the times.
The Question Hour, Call Attention Notices and Resolutions including three on Statehood listed in today’s business couldn’t be taken up due to uproar. The business has lapsed. This was for the first time during budget session of the Legislature which is scheduled to adjourn sine die on Wednesday, unless extended, that the Speaker had to adjourn the House due to massive furore.
As soon as the House proceedings started at 10 AM, NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq said he and other party MLAs have moved an adjournment motion seeking suspension of day’s business to discuss passage of Waqf bill by the Parliament. All NC and Congress MLAs and some Independents were on their feet seeking discussion on Waqf bill while the BJP MLAs strongly resisted the discussion and called for beginning of the Question Hour.
“We are not encroaching upon authority of the Parliament. BJP is trying to muzzle our voice. Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim majority State and Waqf directly impacts us,” Sadiq said.
NC MLA Nazir Gurezi said the BJP is taking the House for granted and wanted to know why the BJP MLAs have been shouting as ruling has to be given by the Speaker.
BJP’s slogan of `Waqf Bill Nahin Chalega’ was responded by the NC with `Tanashahi Nahin Chalegi’ and `Bahas Karo, Bahas Karo, Waqf Bill Par Bahas Karo’.
The Speaker said he has received adjournment motion from nine MLAs including Altaf Kalloo, Qaiser Jamshed Lone, Aijaz Jan, Sajjad Shaheen, Tanvir Sadiq, Mehraj Malik, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan and Sheikh Khursheed.
“The Waqf Act has been assented to be the President. It has become a law. As per Sub Rule 7 of Rule 58, the adjournment motion can’t be brought on any issue which is under the court of law. The Waqf bill has already been challenged in the Supreme Court. Copy of the Writ Petition is lying with me. Whether there is a merit or not in the adjournment motion, House can’t take it up,” Rather said while rejecting the notice for adjournment motion.
PDP MLA Waheed ur Rehman Parra, however, said that the Tamil Nadu Assembly has discussed and passed resolution against the Waqf bill. “Why can’t this House (discuss) the bill”? he asked.
The Speaker, however, said that when the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the resolution, the issue was not sub judice. The Speaker’s ruling was welcomed by the BJP MLAs with thumping of desks.
Many times, NC and Congress MLAs and some Independents tore the papers and flung them in the House to register their protest.
The first adjournment of the House came at 10.22 AM when the Speaker adjourned the House for15 minutes. The Assembly met again at 10.42 AM with no change in the situation and Rather again adjourned the House for 20 minutes. The House finally met at 1.15 PM only to be adjourned for the day after 10 minutes of protests and pandemonium.
Close to final adjournment, the BJP MLAs including Satish Sharma and Vikram Randhawa came close to scuffle with Congress legislator Irfan Hafiz Lone but the Marshals and some legislators separated them.
Right from the beginning, the BJP MLAs mounted a vociferous opposition to the motion, triggering an uproar.
NC’s Qaiser Jamshed Lone said that the adjournment motion pertained to religious matters and a discussion should be scheduled.
Intervening, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary demanded that members be allowed to express their views on the issue. “If they wish to express their views, they should be allowed to speak,” he said.
The Speaker repeatedly instructed members from both sides to return to their seats but every time his appeal was not listened to and he helplessly watched sloganeering and heated exchanges from both treasury and Opposition benches.
However, the confrontation ratcheted up when the parties took to hurling sallies at each other. NC and Congress members raised shouts of “BJP haay haay” and “Bill wapis karo”.
The BJP members responded by shouting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” which was then countered by NC, Congress, and PDP members chanting “Allah Hu Akbar.”
The BJP members also shouted slogans like “Vande Mataram” and “Jaha huay balidaan Mukherjee, wo Kashmir hamara hai.”
NC and Congress members matched it with loud chants of “Nara-e Takbeer.”
As chaos continued, NC members Salman Sagar and Aijaz Jan tore up the question papers and threw them in the air.
During the ruckus, NC member Majid Larmi’s black achkan was torn. Party members held up pieces of the torn dress as symbols of protest against the Bill. Some of the NC MLAs were wearing black dresses.
“Bill wapis lo, kanoon ko khatam karo,” they shouted, while BJP members countered them with “dramebazi ko bandh karo.”
Gurezi said, “This is a religious issue, and we are prepared to sacrifice anything for our faith. If you do not allow us to discuss it, we will not allow the House to function.”
CPI-M member M Y Tarigami said, “We are not here to create divisions between Jammu and Kashmir regions. We are united as legislators – not Hindus and Muslims. We are protesting against the Waqf Bill.”
He also urged the people to unite against the BJP’s “divisive” politics.
“This Bill threatens secularism. I urge the people of Jammu to support us. BJP may try to give it a communal colour, but we must stand united. We will fight against it together in the House,” he said.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament earlier this week after heated debates in both Houses.
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