J&K Assembly session begins today, expected to be stormy

The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Legislative Assembly session, which is all set to begin from tomorrow in Srinagar, is expected to be a stormy one. A notice issued earlier by the J&K Assembly Secretariat stated that the Lieutenant Governor had summoned the Assembly session to meet on October 23 at 10 am.

As per the Assembly’s calendar session, it would begin on Thursday to pay homage to former legislators who passed away recently.

On Friday, the elections for the four vacant seats of Rajya Sabha would be held, for which the ruling National Conference (NC) had filed nominations for all four seats, while the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded three candidates. The Congress has opted out of the contest.

The session would continue until the end of this month and is anticipated to be contentious. Legislators — except those from the BJP — are expected to raise the detention of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik, who was booked under the stringent Public Safety Act by the Doda District Magistrate last month. The session is all set to be stormy next week, when formal business would be held.

Among the other issues, which are slated for discussion, is restoration of the statehood, and the major issue of reservation review. Opposition legislators would attempt to corner the ruling dispensation, as the National Conference government this month completes one year in the office. While the National Conference has been saying they continue to work for the people, despite less powers, Opposition parties on the other hand accuse its government in the state for not fulfilling the promises made by the party before coming to power.

In April, the Assembly was adjourned sine die after three days of uproar over the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Act. Legislators from Valley-based parties, including the National Conference, had demanded a discussion on the Act, which was not held.

The Legislative Assembly was last convened in April when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha summoned a one-day session to unanimously condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, in which 26 people were killed.