All Eyes Would Be If Any Changes Are Made After Objections By PDP, JKPC
JAMMU: Amid objections raised by PDP and JKPC, all eyes would be on meeting of Business Rules Committee of the legislative assembly on Tuesday.
During a meeting last week, the committee reviewed the proposed modifications and some members raised objections and suggested that the speaker should make informal adjustments instead of formally adopting the new rules through the Assembly.
The PDP and JKPC accused the National Conference (NC) of effectively supporting the constitutional changes made on August 5, 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked.
“Endorsing the draft proposal prepared by the Assembly secretariat will be the most explicit and unforgivable ratification of August 5, 2019, had said PC president Sajad Lone in a post on X.
He had warned that such an endorsement would eliminate any future legal challenge to the abrogation of Article 370. “We had hoped the new Assembly would pass a resolution rejecting August 5, 2019, which could serve as a reference in any legal battle. Instead, this is a shocker,” he said.
Lone said that the present Assembly was being used to bury any possibility of a legal challenge. “This Assembly, representing the will of the people of J&K, will now be remembered as the endorser, not the rejector, of August 5, 2019,” he had said.
PDP legislator Waheed Para too echoed similar concerns. He said modifications in the Assembly’s business rules signified a clear shift from Article 370.
“The new rules mark a departure from Article 370 and effectively endorse the constitutional changes of August 5, 2019. It is a clear acknowledgement of the new status quo,” Para had said on X.
With the committee set to meet again on February 11, it remains to be seen whether any changes will be made to address the objections raised by opposition members.
As per Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, the Assembly can run on the basis of rules which existed when J&K was a State till new rules are drafted. First session of J&K UT Legislature from November 4-8 was held on the basis of existing rules.
The framing of ‘Business Rules’ for the House were necessitated after erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was divested of its special status under Article 370 and was divided into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 was passed on August 5, 2019 by the Parliament in which among other subjects the Legislative Assembly was allowed to function on existing Rules till new ‘Business Rules’ are framed for running the House after the State was converted into the UT.
Headed by Rather, the Rules Committee comprised Mubarak Gul, ex-Speaker, Saifullah Mir, former Law Minister, Hasnain Masoodi, ex-MP and Retired High Court Judge, all from National Conference, Pawan Kumar Gupta, former Minister and Ranbir Singh Pathania, both BJP, MY Tarigami (CPM), Nizam-ud-Din Bhat (Congress) and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (Independent-Thannamandi). Barring two BJP Members, all others are part of NC alliance.