J-K Speaker assures action against journalist over MLA 'watching reels' in House claim

Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Friday said "appropriate action" will be taken against a journalist for uploading a National Conference MLA's video on social media claiming the legislator was "watching reels" on phone during House proceedings.

As soon as the House met on Friday morning, Karnah MLA Javaid Mirchal raised the issue of his video going viral on social media.

Mirchal said a journalist shot the video during the assembly proceedings on Thursday while he was "scrolling through mobile".

"I was scrolling through my mobile during proceedings yesterday. A journalist shot it and put it on social media, alleging that I was wasting time," the MLA said.

The video went viral on social media and has garnered around 63,000 views on the portal's Facebook page, which has around a million followers.

Mirchal said, "His constituents have been calling me, and he could not sleep the entire night."

Speaking on the issue, NC MLA from Gurez, Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi, said they are planning to move a privilege motion against the journalist.

Responding to that, Speaker Rather said, "I assure the House that appropriate action will be taken against the defaulter."