Srinagar: The stage seems set for a stormy Budget session of Jammu and Kashmir Legislature beginning on Tuesday.
The opposition parties are planning to corner the government on its recent order barring employees from airing political views on social media. The rival parties are likely to protest on other issues including alleged violation of human rights, dearth of food supplies especially sugar, non-availability of electricity in Kashmir.
The opposition is also likely to corner the government on its move to allow indirect election of sarpanches by panches instead of a direct election.
The session would begin with Governor NN Vohra’s address to a joint sitting of the legislature and end on February 10.
The Budget for the financial year 2018-19 would be presented by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu on January 11. This will be his fourth budget on the trot.
On December 26, the government barred its employees from using their social media accounts for any political activity by amending the conduct rules governing them.
The state government added a sub-rule in the Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Conduct rules which states that no government employee shall engage in any criminal, dishonest, immoral or notoriously disgraceful conduct on social media which may be prejudicial to the government.
“They shall also not use their personal social media accounts for any political activity or endorse the posts or tweets or blogs of any political figure,” the rule states.
Social media has become an important platform and if anyone is coming out with points or propogates the stand of his union or association, why are you silencing him, asked G A Mir, president of JKPCC.
He said the party legislators would seek answers from the government over its failure to implement its Agenda of Alliance, development inertia, tussle over political issues between the coalition partners and back door appointments.
Referring to the regularization of 60,000 casual and daily wagers by the government, he said it was a big joke with the youth who served the department for over two decades as the government were given different pay scales depending on the period of their service.
The Congress leader alleged that over 60,000 other workers were ignored because of “political considerations”.
On December 21, a joint meeting of National Conference members of both Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council was held in Jammu and “devised strategy” and discuss issues to be taken up during the upcoming budget session.
NC’s working president and party leader in the Legislative Assembly Omar Abdullah presided over the meeting. They decided to “vociferously” take up the issues.
