The autumn session of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly began with uproarious scenes on Monday, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators staging noisy protests over power tariff hikes and the demand for regularization of daily‑wagers.
As soon as the obituary references were concluded, BJP lawmakers stood up and raised slogans demanding justice for daily‑wagers and National Health Mission (NHM) employees, while also protesting against the government over electricity supply and tariff.
Shouting slogans such as “Jo Sarkar Na De Sakhe Bijli Pani, Woh Sarkar Nakami” (A government that fails to provide power and water is incompetent), “Insaf Karo, Daily‑wagers Ke Sath” (Do justice with daily‑wagers), and “Insaf Karo, NHM Employees Ke Sath” (Do justice with NHM employees), the BJP MLAs disrupted proceedings.
Despite the protests, ministers continued replying to questions raised by other lawmakers. Carrying placards, BJP legislators shouted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram” slogans.
The BJP members were countered by Congress legislators Irfan Hafiz Lone and Iftikhar Ahmad, though their exchanges could not be clearly heard amid the din. As soon as CPI(M) leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami stood up to counter them, several BJP lawmakers stormed into the well of the House and resorted to massive anti‑government sloganeering.
Soon, National Conference (NC) MLAs also joined in, raising slogans demanding the restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s statehood.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather repeatedly appealed to the protesting lawmakers to return to their seats and warned them of action. “Go to your seats,” he urged, but BJP legislators remained in the well and continued their sloganeering.
Amid the uproar, NC’s Nazir Gurezi accused BJP leaders of wasting the House’s time to hide their incompetence. “They should protest in Delhi rather than here,” he told the Speaker.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary alleged that the BJP did not want the government to resolve issues confronting the people of Jammu & Kashmir. “If they are sincere to the people of J&K, they should listen to the government’s answers. The government is ready to respond,” he said.
The Speaker adjourned the House for the day after Minister for Rural Development Javid Dar introduced a bill on amending cooperative law.
