Pandemonium in J&K Assembly as Speaker refuses debate on Waqf Act
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly descended into chaos on Monday as Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather disallowed a debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which was recently passed by Parliament.
As the House convened on the first day after the break, a ruckus erupted when Rather refused a motion moved by NC’s Nazir Gurezi and Tanvir Sadiq, seeking adjournment of the Question Hour to discuss the Waqf law. A notice for the motion had been submitted to the Speaker by nine members from the NC, Congress and Independent MLAs.
Rather stated that the matter is sub judice and has been challenged in the Supreme Court, and therefore, it could not be discussed in the Assembly.
Due to the ensuing chaos and a tussle between MLAs from the BJP and other parties, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly twice for 15 and 20 minutes, respectively. However, as the situation remained tense, the House was eventually adjourned for the day.
Religious slogans were raised inside the Assembly by some Valley-based MLAs, which were countered by BJP members. This was the first time the Assembly had been adjourned during the Budget session, which began in Jammu on March 3.
Inside the House, NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq said, “As J&K is a Muslim-majority region, the Waqf (Amendment) Act is directly associated with the people of the region. Many members of the House have moved an adjournment motion to discuss this Act. I request that the motion be admitted and a discussion held.” Soon after, several NC members began sloganeering against the Act, demanding its rollback.
Sadiq further noted that even in the past, the Assemblies of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and West Bengal had discussed central laws like GST and the farm laws.
A major scuffle was averted when Congress MLA Irfan Lone approached the BJP benches carrying a black band and some papers. BJP MLAs Arvind Gupta, Satish Sharma, and Vikram Randhawa attempted to snatch the papers, which led to a brief confrontation. Other members quickly intervened to de-escalate the situation.
Several MLAs from the NC, Congress, PDP, and Independent groups tried to storm the well of the House. Some MLAs tore and tossed papers, presumably related to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, while raising slogans against the Central government.
Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, accused the NC of trying to incite religious sentiments over the Waqf Amendment Bill. “The Waqf Bill has been passed by Parliament and is now sub judice. Therefore, discussing the Bill in the Assembly is unconstitutional,” he said.
J & K