PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti throws microphone at J&K Speaker

NEW DELHI: There was ruckus in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday with legislators of the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) stalling the proceedings by shouting slogans against the government over the Shopian murders.

The PDP legislators gathered near the speaker's podium and Mehbooba Mufti even tried to fling a microphone at the Speaker.

The incident occurred after PDP leaders started raising slogans over the Shopian incident in which two women were raped and murdered in May.

Led by party president Mehbooba Mufti, PDP legislators started shouting slogans like "Produce the killers of Shopian" as the assembly session began.

After repeated requests by the Speaker failed to restore order, he ordered the dismissal of the PDP MLAs from the floor of the House. The MLAs, however, refused to leave and police officials had to forcibly escort them out of the assembly.

Pandemonium continued in the assembly till the PDP legislators were taken out of the House.

Mehbooba Mufti later accused the Speaker of using "unparliamentary" language and acting more like a "ruling NC worker" in the House.

Mehbooba Mufti said, "I took on the Speaker as he was ordering PDP MLAs out."

"We did nothing wrong. Speaker was at fault, she added.

PDP MLAs led by Mehbooba Mufti are now staging a sit-in dharna outside the assembly.

Meanwhile, the bail applications of J&K police officers Javed Iqbal Mattoo and Rohit Baskotra, arrested in connection with the sensational Shopian murder case, will come up for hearing on Monday at a court in Shopian.

The pleas of the two officers were moved on Sunday before the sessions court by senior Supreme Court lawyer Asim Mehrotra who flew into Srinagar to argue the case on behalf of Mattoo and Baskotra.