Pandemonium prevailed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Thursday, with members of the Bhartiya Janata Party and the National Panthers Party (NPP) creating ruckus, protesting against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's Wednesday remarks over a solution to the Kashmir dispute.
They were marshalled out, and four of them suffered minor injuries.
As soon as the House assembled in the morning, the BJP and NPP members objected to Mr. Abdullah's remarks that Kashmir had not merged with India but only acceded to it. They charged him with pursuing “Hurriyat and Pakistani agenda.” The BJP also threatened to launch an agitation in Jammu.
Shouting slogans, they stormed into the well, saying they would not allow the State to become a part of Pakistan, as “it is an integral part of India.”
Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone asked them to take their seats and behave in a democratic manner while airing their views. However, they did not budge, and the din continued. Mr. Lone then ordered their eviction. The marshals then dragged all the 11 BJP members and three of the NPP out of the House. Three BJP members and an NPP member were injured in the scuffle they had with the marshals. They were treated by doctors in the Assembly complex.
“The Chief Minister is wrong. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. As per Section 3 of the Constitution, Jammu and Kashmir is and shall remain an integral part of India,” senior BJP leader Ashok Khajuria said. “He [Mr. Abdullah] is having a Hurriyat and Pakistani agenda. This House is having an Islamic agenda.”
The Speaker sent two senior members M.Y. Tarigami and Saifullah Mir to persuade the agitating MLAs to return to the House. The BJP members refused, but the NPP members agreed.
“Speaker sir, Section 3 of the Constitution is clear that Jammu and Kashmir is and shall remain an integral part of India,” said NPP leader Harsh Dev Singh. “We are saying it because this House talked about self-determination and ‘Azadi.' The Chief Minister should read the Constitution.” Later, he too walked out.
Talking to journalists, Mr. Khajuria said it was the “black day” in the history of the Assembly. “Four of our legislators are injured,” he said. They were Durga Das, Jugal Kishore, Sukhnandan and himself.
Mr. Khajuria said that in New Delhi, the National Conference spoke in a different language. “Farooq Abdullah calls Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India, while his son and Chief Minister says it did not merge [with India]. We will not remain silent. We will launch an agitation in Jammu against the Chief Minister and his government.” The BJP would boycott further proceedings of the House, he added.
The NPP has called a Jammu bandh for October 8.
All the 21 members of the People's Democratic Party have boycotted the session from the second day; on Thursday, only the members of the ruling coalition, Mr. Tarigami, the lone CPI (M) member, and two independents attended the proceedings.
