Shabbily scripted political drama in Legislative Assembly

GNS Special Report ,Srinagar, Sept 28: In what appeared to be a shabbily scripted political drama, the ruling coalition of Congress and National Conference (NC) today defeated the independent MLA, Engineer Rashid's resolution seeking clemency to the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, in Legislative Assembly. After the Congress and BJP repeatedly turned the House into a 'fish market' and others---NC, PDP, CPM and NPP---watched the ruckus like mute spectators, Speaker adjourned the proceedings for a day. Histrionics marked the very beginning of the day's proceedings as all the MLAs and almost all the Ministers of Congress party got up at the Speaker's arrival at 9.30 a.m. and began shouting high-pitch slogans. Without any reason and provocation, they kept yelling for dismissal of the BJP MLAs who had been suspended by their own party over charges of indulging in cross-voting in election for some seats of Legislative Council in April this year. Even as the entire Congress camp, that included all the Ministers, kept standing in support of the demand of dismissal under anti-defection law, Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone persisted with his averment that the matter was under the consideration of J&K High Court. He made it repeatedly clear that he could not take a decision as long as the matter was sub judice. On the other hand, members of both factions of the BJP united to repulse the Congress offensive. They too raised counter-slogans and called Congress a party of 'thieves and corrupt politicians'. Thereupon, a number of MLAs from both sides walked into the well. Intriguingly, neither Chief Minister nor Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, made any attempt to silence the agitating members. For nearly 12 minutes, Speaker made passionate appeals to the standing Ministers to pacify their agitating colleague and let the proceedings of Question Hour start. However, his words of concern fell on deaf ears in the din. "This is utterly shameful, not expected from the Treasury Benches", Speaker snubbed the Ministers. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as well as all the Ministers of his NC chose to be statues--- a few of them even threw smiles and did not hide getting entertained by the drama. When his sustained efforts, including warnings, failed to restore order, Speaker adjourned the proceedings for half-an-hour. As soon as Speaker resumed the business at 10.24 a.m. BJP MLAs triggered off round two of the pandemonium. Some of them shouted that resolution on Afzal Guru, which was scheduled as the last item of today's business, could not be taken up for a discussion in J&K Assembly. Speaker Lone chipped in promptly: "Anything under the sky can be discussed in this House. Heavens won't fall". For a while, some of the opposition PDP MLAs too got up collectively to assert that resolution on Guru was neither illegal nor unconstitutional. Yet again, almost all of the ruling Congress MLAs, including Ministers, and those from both factions of the opposition BJP, headed towards the well and indulged in sloganeering and counter-sloganeering. Congress MLAs Wiqar Rasool and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori led the ruckus in the well and began shouting over shoulders and Secretary Assembly's table. Ministers R S Chib, Pirzada Mohammad Sayeed, Taj Mohiuddin, Sham Lal Sharma, Rigzin Jora and Dr Manohar Lal kept standing on their seats in support of their party MLAs. Speaker kept on issuing warnings but on no point of time did he resort to his trademark USP of calling the marshals. "You people are undermining the sanctity of this House. Please take your seats and let the Business start", he grumbled, repeatedly. When nobody responded positively, Speaker announced yet another adjournment---this time for one hour. Denouement Third, and the last, round of the sitting began at 12.07 p.m. with identical disorder. Congress MLAs, led by Saroori and Wiqar, maintained shouting that the BJP MLAs, according to them delinquent of cross-voting, had "no right to be in this House". Amid intense sloganeering and counter-sloganeering between Congress and BJP, almost all of Congress party's Ministers joined the demand of dismissal of the BJP's "defectors". According to Saroori, Speaker had assured Congress MLAs during the interval that he would read out the names of the BJP MLAs facing charges of violating the anti-defection law. He shouted that Speaker should produce the list in the House. "This is not proper. This is not fair. You people are violating the sanctity of this House. Please go back to your seats", Speaker warned but all in vain. Unruly MLAs instead occupied the well, forced the Assembly Secretariat staff to vacate and continued shouting and sloganeering. Wiqar Rasool and some others perched on shoulders and tables in front of Speaker---something unprecedented in Akbar Lone's 33-month-long tenure. On one point of time, Speaker warned BJP MLAs to walk out "before I call marshals to take you guys out". However, he did not resort to extreme action. Even when everybody was expecting Speaker to assert against the unruly Congress MLAs playing the ruckus on tables in the well, he did not call the marshals for action. Amid this pandemonium, MLA Engineer Rashid too jumped into the well, shouting loudly that the Congress and the BJP members "with silent support of NC and PDP" were staging this drama only with the purpose of wasting time and thus preventing his resolution from coming up for discussion. He had a heated argument with Minister of Health and Horticulture, Sham Lal Sharma, and also ran amuck while smashing fan-stands on the floor. With that, Speaker at 12.07 p.m. announced third adjournment of the day till tomorrow. Er Rashid Speaking to media after the adjournment, Engineer Rashid alleged that all the mainstream political party, including the ruling NC and the opposition PDP, had joined hands to fail his resolution on Guru "on the call of their masters in New Delhi". "It was a completely stage-managed show. Congress had no special reason today to clash with BJP. Had the BJP stood away for a while, Congress would have no second hand to clap. Had the PDP asserted, Business would have operated and the resolution (on Guru) would have been discussed", Rashid complained. He pointed out that neither the Chief Minister "who was so much enthusiastic over Guru in his Tweets last month" nor his Minister of Parliamentary Affairs had made even a feeble attempt to maintain order in the House. "They all stand exposed today before the people of Kashmir. This is all hypocrisy, not politics", Rashid observed and expressed apprehension that a whole new generation could now lose faith in the efficacy, credibility and neutrality of the state's democratic institutions. "This system of interventions through remote control from Delhi has to end", he added. Omar Abdullah Chief Minister's observation to media was that J&K had today become victim of the country's national politics. He did not make it clear whether NC would have voted in favour of or against the resolution. Mehbooba Mufti PDP President and Leader of the Opposition, Mehbooba Mufti, held NC responsible for sabotaging the resolution on Guru. She too referred to Omar Abdullah's Tweets on Guru and asserted that contradictions were characteristics of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's party from its inception. When it was pointed out to her by mediapersons that PDP had watched entire pandemonium like mute spectators on the floor, she argued that raising a voice would have facilitated NC, as well as Speaker, to make PDP a scapegoat and charge it with disrupting the resolution. "It was a fixed match since last night", Mehbooba said, suggesting failure of the resolution under intervention from New Delhi.