J&K Budget session: BJP members stage walkout amid uproar over 1931 killings

A political storm erupted in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Wednesday, leading to a walkout by BJP MLAs after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather expunged remarks made by Leader of Opposition (LoP) and BJP MLA Sunil Sharma regarding the July 13, 1931 killings in Srinagar.

The uproar began when Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para demanded the restoration of the July 13 holiday in remembrance of the 22 men killed outside Central Jail, Srinagar, in 1931. The holiday, once observed annually in Jammu and Kashmir, was discontinued following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Para also urged that December 5 — the birth anniversary of National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah — be reinstated as a public holiday.

Arguing in favour of the July 13 commemoration, Para described the event as an uprising against the autocratic rule of the last Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh and a symbol of the democratic struggle in Jammu and Kashmir. “This day is not communal in any manner but represents a moment in India’s democratic history. It was a day of resistance against monarchy and lives were sacrificed for that cause,” he stated.

His remarks sparked heated exchanges between BJP legislators and MLAs from the Kashmir region. As tensions escalated, Speaker Rather intervened but failed to pacify the lawmakers. The situation further intensified when LoP Sunil Sharma’s remarks were expunged from the Assembly records, prompting him and all 28 BJP MLAs to stage a walkout in protest.

Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Sharma defended his position, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was a state established by Maharaja Hari Singh and that its resources had been exploited by Kashmir-centric leaders for decades. “We are proud of our ideology and of the last ruler of J&K. Anyone who stood against the Maharaja cannot be considered a martyr,” he said.

Sheikh Khursheed, MLA from Langate and leader of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), condemned Sharma’s comments as “humiliating and divisive,” stating that such statements insult the sacrifices of the people and should have no place in the Assembly records.

Outside the House, Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also denounced Sharma’s remarks, calling them “outrageous.” In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “These martyrs, revered by one and all in J&K, are part of our collective memory of the great sacrifices made by the people of Kashmir for their rights. Any attempt to malign them will be firmly resisted.”