BJP MLAs play opposition in Jammu & Kashmir Assembly

JAMMU: Some BJP legislators left their own government red faced in J&K by questioning the functioning of the coalition government with PDP.

J&K assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta accused deputy CM Nirmal Singh of breaching protocol. The Opposition immediately lent him support by raising slogans against the government and then staging a brief walkout from the Assembly.

Gupta spoke in the assembly after several legislators accused the government and bureaucrats of undermining MLAs through different means and restricting their power and space. “I have written to Jammu SSP on the escort of deputy CM deliberately breaching my security and violating my protocol as Speaker, but I haven’t receive any reply,” said Gupta.


Senior PDP minister Abdul Rehman Veeri immediately intervened, saying that the breach of protocol should not reoccur and the chair of the custodian of the House be respected. Earlier, senior BJP legislator Choudhary Sukhnandan said the previous NC-Congress government was better than the incumbent dispensation.

“The earlier government was better than this government. At least, they would listen and solve our problems. I am happy in Opposition,” said Sukhnandan, attracting a thunderous applause from the opposition benches.

The BJP legislator also criticized the budget, saying that the finance minister has focused on horticulture of Kashmir and has offered nothing to farmers in Jammu region. Independent MLA Pawan Gupta, who was earlier with BJP and part of the cabinet when PDP-BJP was formed in 2015, also leaves no stone unturned to shame the government in the house.