In a free-for-all situation, the visitors gallery, adjoining Central hall, inside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature complex, witnessed unprecedented ‘hooliganism’ on Wednesday after some of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) legislators came close to exchanging blows with the lone Aam Aadmi Party MLA over some of his provocative statements against the members of the Hindu community.
In the scuffle, which was witnessed for the first time in the recent history of the J&K Assembly records, members resorted to the use of ‘ filthy and unparliamentary language’ and attempted to thrash each other repeatedly without caring for their safety. Several furniture items placed in the hall were broken, including the table glass.
The incident also exposed the gaps in the overall security of the legislature complex, as several outsiders also gained access inside the legislature complex and were seen hurling abuses at the AAP MLA for using derogatory words against Mufti Mohd Sayeed.
For the last couple of days, AAP MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, was using abusive language during his media interactions and deliberately tarnishing the image of the deceased former Chief Minister and PDP Patron, Mufti Mohd Sayeed. First of all, AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was confronted by the PDP workers before he could enter the legislature complex on Wednesday morning.
As members of the watch and ward staff and other security personnel attempted to escort him to safety, a group of BJP MLAs also confronted him over his recent utterances against the members of the Hindu community. As Mehraj Malik entered the visitors’ gallery, he lashed out at the PDP legislators who were sitting outside the Assembly hall after the house was adjourned by the speaker till 1.00 p.m.
While Malik was shouting continuously and was being pacified by some of the National Conference MLAs, he was again confronted by another group of BJP legislators in the visitors’ gallery as he started shouting at them as well. As a scuffle broke out, Mehraj stumbled on a centre table and tried to hit back BJP legislators. The members of the watch and ward staff and several others timely intervened and escorted him to safety to further avoid any confrontation leading to fresh violence near the central hall of the Legislature complex. Briefing the media, BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa lashed out at Malik, demanding strict action against him and even invoking the Public Safety Act (PSA).
“He has abused Hindus... We will not tolerate this... We will give him an answer”. Randhawa claimed, “It is our misfortune that we have people with a cheap mindset as MLAs. Even though they are from a particular community, their attack is always on the BJP and the Hindu community. There are so many cases against him (Mehraaj Malik)... He should undergo a Narco test, and we will request the Speaker to suspend him from the Assembly. He speaks nonsense every day. Ever since he became an MLA, he thinks he can abuse Hindus? We’ll teach him a lesson today.”
Earlier in the morning, the Assembly had to be adjourned for three hours due to the uproar, largely triggered by the government’s refusal to allow a motion for adjournment to discuss the Waqf Act.
Addressing the members in the House, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather defended his action of disallowing the adjournment motion by some National Conference (NC) members and its alliance partners on the Waqf issue and also disallowed a no-confidence motion moved against him by three opposition members led by Peoples Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone, citing business rules and technicalities.
After the house was adjourned sine die, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC) announced their decision to knock on the Supreme Court’s doors over the Waqf Act.
Under fire from the opposition for rolling out a “red carpet welcome” to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who moved the Waqf Amendment Bill in parliament, the NC said on Wednesday it would approach the top court. “We believe that this amendment is against Muslims. Whatever opposition we had to do, we tried to do it in the last three days,” its chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said, accompanied by several legislators. Now, we will take this fight forward. On the directions of our president Farooq Abdullah sahib, NC will submit a petition in the Supreme Court. We will fight this fight there now,” he said.
The announcement came barely an hour after PDP president Mehbooba Mufti announced that her party will also challenge the Waqf Act in the apex court while taking on the NC for not allowing a discussion in the House. “In the coming day or two, we will challenge the amendment brought to the Waqf Bill in the Supreme Court,” she said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who stayed away from the house until Wednesday, reached the civil secretariat and clarified his recent interaction with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju at Srinagar’s Tulip Garden. “It is right that two days ago, I took my father to the Tulip Garden. It is a coincidence that a Union minister was present there at the moment. We greeted each other. He wanted to get a picture with me, how could I refuse?”
Dismissing the criticism as politically motivated, he added, “Now, those who gave the BJP an entry into J&K are trying to use that against me. Those who have not apologised to the people of J&K for what happened in 2016 should first take a look at their actions and the price J&K had to pay for their alliance with the BJP”, Omar reminded PDP.
