Jammu, Feb 27 (KNO): The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday demanded that the Speaker shouldn’t permit any unconstitutional or anti- national activity during the budget session of the Assembly starting on March 3.
After attending the all party meeting called by speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that they won’t allow any unconstitutional or undemocratic or anti-national resolution, question or any bill in the House.
“I urged the Speaker that he shouldn’t allow any such activity and run the House impartially,” he said.
The LoP said that the public issues need to be highlighted during the assembly session which is possible only when no disruptions occur.
He said that the credibility of MLAs is at stake during the proceedings of the house and members need to be responsive towards public issues and make the government accountable on that rather than indulging in disruptions.
Sharma assured the Speaker that the legislators of his party will ensure smooth business of the house.
Earlier Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather chaired an all-party meeting here to seek cooperation from political parties for smooth functioning of the House during the budget session.
Sources told KNO that the Speaker urged members to ensure that question hour should not be disrupted which, he said, is “important for holding the government accountable. Legislators must utilize this time effectively to raise public concerns and seek concrete responses.”
“The Budget Session is a crucial time for policy deliberations and financial planning. I urge all of you and your members to engage in meaningful debates, uphold house decorum and work towards the collective good of our people as well as the entire Jammu and Kashmir,” the Speaker said.
The Speaker called upon all the political parties for effective coordination during the entire session of the house. He underlined that productivity of the house is possible only after there is coordination between opposition and the government in highlighting peoples issues and addressing them respectively.
According to sources, the participants of the meeting urged the Speaker that they should be given adequate time to raise issues of public concern.
The Speaker underscored the need for dialogue, coordination and consensus building to facilitate smooth legislative proceedings.
During the meeting, PDP MLA Waheed- Ur- Rehman Parra vociferously pushed for equal space for opposition, saying they have the right to be heard and raise issues affecting the public.
Talking to KNO, MLA Rajouri Muzaffar Iqbal Khan said that the meeting discussed ways and means to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
“There was agreement among all parties that there wouldn’t be disruptions and it would be ensured that the executive is accountable to legislature,” he said.
In his remarks during the meeting, Ghulam Ahmad Mir of INC said that question hour, being an important tool for making government accountable, should not be disrupted.
CPI (M) Legislator, M.Y Tarigami, underlined that accountability of the government is possible only through smooth conduct of house proceedings. He also called for coordination between government and the opposition to make house proceedings productive and fruitful.
During the meeting, NC Legislator Mubarik Gul, said that the public issues need to be highlighted during the assembly proceedings as legislators are the face of the people during the session of the house.
The meeting was attended by Sunil Sharma and Surjit Singh Salathia (both BJP), Mubarak Gul (NC), Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Congress), Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami (CPI-M), Waheed-ur-Rehman Para (PDP), and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (Independent).
However, Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone and National Conference leader Ali Muhammad Sagar didn’t attend the meeting—(KNO)