J&K Assembly passes statehood resolution amid BJP walkout

• The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has passed a resolution seeking the urgent restoration of full statehood.

• BJP legislators protested the manner in which the resolution was taken up and moved a notice seeking Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather’s removal.

• The resolution was passed after BJP members walked out of the House.

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday, 28 September passed a resolution demanding the urgent restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory, as BJP legislators protested the proceedings and walked out before the vote.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah moved the resolution amid objections from the BJP, the Assembly’s largest opposition party. Its legislators questioned Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather’s decision to allow the motion to be taken up by relaxing Assembly rules. They also objected to its linkage with earlier resolutions concerning Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s former special status.

BJP members began protesting as proceedings opened. Led by leader of opposition Sunil Sharma, some entered the well of the House and staged mock proceedings. The speaker directed marshals to remove some legislators from the well while Abdullah continued speaking in support of the resolution. The House passed it after the BJP, which has 29 members in the 90-seat Assembly, walked out.

The BJP also submitted a notice seeking Rather’s removal as speaker, saying he had permitted the resolution in violation of the rules. Rather declined to step down, saying he had not read the notice and that, under Assembly procedure, it would be listed after 14 days.

Jammu and Kashmir has been a Union Territory since August 2019, when Parliament revoked its special status under Article 370 and reorganised the former state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Monday’s vote renews the Assembly’s demand for statehood while bringing the ruling National Conference and the BJP into another confrontation over how that demand is framed.

With IANS inputs