- Aazan Manzoor
Srinagar, Sept 29 (JKNS): Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat on Tuesday questioned the constitutional basis for restricting the privileges and functioning of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, urging the government to clarify the status of the House under the Constitution and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act.
Speaking in the Assembly, as per news agency JKNS, Bhat referred to the constitutional provisions dealing with the creation and functioning of legislatures and asked where it was provided that the Jammu and Kashmir legislature was different from the legislatures of other states.
“Let them show me where it has been said that this legislature is different from the legislature of states. Is it somewhere in the Constitution? No, not at all,” he said.
As learnt by JKNS, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and Law Secretary Achal Sethi have written separate letters to the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, seeking that a resolution on restoration of statehood not be taken up.
The letters were sent three days after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah moved the resolution, which was subsequently admitted by the House.
The bureaucrats cited the matter being sub judice as a reason for opposing the resolution and urged the Assembly Secretariat to disallow it.
Bhat said Jammu and Kashmir was presently being governed under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act and questioned provisions relating to the functioning of the legislature and its business rules.
He said the existing framework had affected the privileges and protocol of elected representatives, adding that legislators were being told that they did not have the same privileges and protocol.
The Congress MLA also raised questions over the continuation of provisions and references linked to the earlier three-tier Panchayati Raj system, saying that changes were required to reflect the present institutional structure.
He said ministers were accountable to the people and had a mandate, but alleged that the functioning of the legislature was being restricted and that the authority of the Speaker had also been challenged.
“What about us? Why should we stay? This is absolutely unconstitutional,” Bhat said while raising objections to the restrictions he referred to during his intervention.
He demanded that the relevant communication and provisions be made part of the Assembly proceedings and placed before the House for discussion.
Bhat also emphasised that the Legislative Assembly was a forum of elected representatives and said matters concerning its authority and functioning should be discussed on the floor of the House.
He urged the concerned authorities to provide clarity on the constitutional and legal position governing the Assembly and its members. (JKNS)
