Jammu, Feb 11: Uproarious scenes were witnessed in the Legislative Assembly for the second consecutive day on Wednesday over remarks made by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah against BJP lawmakers.
As the House assembled in the morning, BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma said the words used by the CM were unparliamentary and that they would leave it to his conscience whether he would withdraw his remarks.
“What happened in the House yesterday has no precedence. The language used by the Hon’ble CM is not parliamentary. The treasury benches are hostile towards us. I want to ask the Leader of the House whether he will withdraw his remarks. We leave it to his conscience to decide,” Sharma said.
As BJP legislators stood up, Minister for Health & Medical Education Sakina Ittoo accused the opposition of using indecent language against the treasury benches.
“The opposition has been using unparliamentary language. The Deputy CM was told, ‘Aap apni shakal dekho.’ We have directions not to disrupt the opposition,” she said.
“You don’t want to listen-this is your biggest problem. You should also check what comments were made by the opposition,” Sakina told the lawmakers.
Amid a heated exchange of arguments between the two sides, Sham Lal Sharma was interrupted by the Deputy CM, who said, “Don’t teach us.” In a fit of rage, Sham asked him to take his hands out of his pockets.
BJP’s Balwant Singh Mankotia accused the CM of making remarks collectively against BJP lawmakers.
“He has made these remarks collectively against us. Is it not inappropriate?” he asked.
NC’s Aijaz Jan hit back, saying the BJP had used defamatory and derogatory language against the 20 lakh people of Pir Panchal.
As BJP continued with its demand, Sakina Itoo accused them of attempting to ruin the careers of students enrolled in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Sciences (SMVDIME).
“You expelled 50 students from SMVDIME in the name of Hindu-Muslim. You tried to ruin the careers of students. You should apologise to them. You should also apologise to the people of the Pir Panchal region,” she said.
Nazir Gurezi of NC said that the CM wanted to explain but was not allowed to put his viewpoint before the House.
The Speaker requested the opposition to allow the House to function.
“The Chief Minister is not present, and I cannot speak on his behalf. When he comes, if he wishes to speak, he will do so. Please allow the Question Hour to proceed. I have the authority and can use it, but I request you to let the proceedings continue,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, said the Speaker should assure them that the Chief Minister would clarify whether the language used by him was appropriate.
“We want the House to function. Running the House is the responsibility of the ruling party and the Speaker. In the history of the Assembly, the words used here yesterday have never been used before. Was the language used by the Chief Minister appropriate? The Speaker should assure us whether the Chief Minister will respond. The public has been embarrassed. This is a question concerning the whole of Jammu and Kashmir,” Sharma said.
Addressing the Speaker, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “If you feel that some words used were inappropriate, you can remove them from the record. We have no objection.”
Sharma responded, saying those words would be excluded automatically.
“At least acknowledge those words were insulting,” Sharma said.
At 10:30 a.m., the BJP staged a walkout from the House. (KNO)
