Obituary reference to Satya Pal Malik triggers heated exchange between NC, BJP in J-K Assembly

The opening day of the autumn session of J-K Assembly witnessed heated exchanges during obituary references, as the National Conference and the opposition BJP traded barbs over the role of former governor late Satya Pal Malik in the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

The name of Malik—the 10^th and last governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir who passed away in August this year—triggered a row after National Conference (NC) MLA Bashir Veeri termed his role controversial, with BJP member Sham Lal Sharma demanding the remarks be expunged.

Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, while asking Veeri to respect the deceased, did not accept Sharma’s demand to expunge the NC MLA’s remarks.

However, at the conclusion of the obituary references, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Malik must have acted with the belief that he was doing good.

Congress legislative party leader G A Mir, however, called Malik a good leader, who was “outspoken” and “popular”.

“He might have benefitted from it (Article 370 abrogation), but he suffered as well. We saw how he had to struggle in his last days to put the truth before the people,” Mir said.

PDP MLA Rafiq Naik said while there may be differences with Malik, “we should not speak negatively while paying tributes to the deceased”.

“We may have differences, but since he (Malik) has left us, we should speak good of him,” he said.

Naik also raised the issue of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, who was arrested last month under the Public Safety Act for allegedly disturbing public order in Doda district, but the speaker said, “You are speaking on obituary references, and he (Mehraj Malik) is still alive”.

On Satya Pal Malik, CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami said obituary does not mean “we do not learn a lesson”.

“Respect apart, a person who was entrusted with a public responsibility should also be assessed for his actions. Otherwise, it becomes a routine exercise. Even criticism can be done by staying within the levels of decency,” Tarigami said.

Awami Ittehad Party MLA Sheikh Khursheed said while constructive criticism should be allowed, Satya Pal Malik was the last governor of J-K, who later raised farmers’ issues and was an honest politician.

Asserting that August 5, 2019, was a historic day (when Article 370 was abrogated), BJP’s Vikram Randhawa, while referring to Satya Pal Malik, said an ordinary person cannot be made the governor of five states.

“The BJP saw his talent and appointed him (as governor). August 5 is a historic day for J-K, and it was a coincidence that Satya Pal Malik breathed his last on August 5 (this year),” Randhawa said.

The remarks led to protests by some NC MLAs, with Nazir Gurezi claiming that Malik did “some unconstitutional things” which will be written in history.

However, BJP MLA Narinder Singh said the credit for achieving ‘One Nation, One Constitution’ goes to Malik.

Deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary, meanwhile, said anyone who comes from outside J-K, be it a governor or an IAS or an IPS officer, writes an autobiography after his/her retirement.

“I wish they write it while they are here. A man who occupied multiple constitutional posts, would it not be appropriate that he be draped in the tricolour after his death,” he asked.

Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma said the members should not say anything against those who have left this world.

“None of these persons would have thought that someday a member sitting in this House would say things in a different way. The same can happen to us tomorrow. How will the family feel then? We should be mindful of that,” Sharma said.

Echoing the sentiment, Chief Minister Abdullah said everyone makes mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly.

“None of us is an angel sent by God. We have also made mistakes,” he said.

Paying tributes to the deceased leaders, Abdullah said he had a chance to work with some of them.

“Some of them I never met. But each one of them tried to do something good. All of them served people either through elections or through political parties.” “Today these people have left us, and we will also leave (the world) some day. When? No one knows. But one thing is sure that we all have to go. The House and its members will remember us,” Abdullah said.

Referring to Satya Pal Malik, the chief minister said he served as an MLA, an MP, a minister at the Centre, and then as a governor.

“When history will be written, everyone will be mentioned. We would like to believe that he did whatever he did with the intention of doing good,” Abdullah added.

Earlier, Speaker Rather expressed displeasure over the fact that the deputy commissioners of several districts did not respond to requests for information about any former legislators who might have passed away since the previous session of the Assembly.

The Speaker also expressed dissatisfaction that the deputy commissioner of Kupwara responded to the request by saying there was no such deaths, even though the former MLA from Langate in the district,  Mohammad Sultan Pandithpori, passed away in May.

Commenting on the miss, Abdullah said, “House proceedings should not be taken lightly.” The chief minister also proposed to do away with obituary references by individual members, saying only the speaker should read them to save time.

“On this day, let us make a resolve to work in a new way. The procedure was the same in Parliament, but someone felt that it was a waste of time.” “Now, the speaker reads the obituary references and the House stands as a mark of respect. May be we should also do the same.”

“The best tribute would be to not waste time and get straight to work. This is my suggestion, the rest is up to you (Speaker) as you are custodian of the House,” Abdullah said.

He added, “Being politicians, sometimes we make political statements. To avoid this, we should follow the Parliament.”

Stating that there was substance in the suggestion, Rather assured to take up the matter.

The House observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the departed leaders, which also included   ex-minister Gulchain Singh Charak, former MLA Dina Nath Bhagat, ex-MLCs Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, Ramesh Arora and Sardar Mohammad Akhlaq Khan.

The speaker then adjourned the House till Monday, with Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for Friday and Saturday and Sunday being off days.