Jammu: The ruling PDP-BJP government’s contentious bill in the Legislative Assembly that envisages making persons calling for strikes or demonstrations, which lead to damage of public property, liable for fines and imprisonment up to five years, was on Saturday stalled in the House.
The Bill to amend “Jammu and Kashmir Public Property (Prevention of Damages) Act 1985” (LA Bill No: 9 of 2018) was referred to the House Select Committee.
As the Bill was introduced in the House by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Abdul Rehman Veeri, on behalf of the Chief Minister, Legislators Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Hakeem Mohammad Yasin, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, Altaf Ahmad Wani and others opposed it and demanded its referral to the select committee for further discussion.
Responding to the concern of the Legislators, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs announced that the Bill will be referred to the House Select Committee.
The proposed legislation would replace an ordinance enacted by the Governor NN Vohra last year on the recommendation of the State.
The proposed legislation has already come under severe attack from rights groups and legal experts, arguing that it criminalizes “all modes of protest and dissent.”
A prominent rights group has also already expressed concern over the law, saying “this systematically suppresses alternative perspective and punishes people for expressing their democratic right of dissent”.
