LoP says only 5 effective sittings remain after holidays, condolence business; alleges corruption from officials to ministers
Srinagar, Sep 15 (BuzzBytes): Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma, on Tuesday strongly objected to the short duration of the upcoming Assembly session and demanded that it be extended to around 30 days so that MLAs get adequate time to effectively raise public issues and grievances before the government.
Addressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters, Sharma said the Assembly is the primary forum through which the expectations and grievances of the people are conveyed to the government through their elected representatives. He said democracy has an established system under which public issues are raised in the Assembly and the government takes steps to resolve them so that people can get relief.
Sharma alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir government has weakened the importance of the Assembly and its accountability role. “It is unfortunate to say that the government has almost ended its accountability towards the legislature, and the Assembly has been reduced to a mockery,” he said. The Leader of Opposition also criticised Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, saying the Speaker’s chair is expected to run House proceedings impartially, but the opposition no longer has high expectations from the Speaker’s conduct in the current situation.
Objecting to the proposed seven-sitting Assembly session, Sharma said it would not be possible to adequately raise public issues in such a short session. He said that of the seven sittings, the last carries only “business, if any” on its agenda, while the first sitting is devoted to condolence references, leaving effectively only five sittings available for substantive business. He said the BJP, the largest opposition party in the House, was taking the matter seriously because raising public issues before the government is a key responsibility of the opposition. He said it was expected that the Assembly session would run for close to 30 days so the government gets adequate time to hear the aspirations of the people and resolve their issues.
Sharma also accused the government of failing to ensure routine governance over the past two years, saying normal governance is nowhere visible on the ground and people do not feel the government’s presence, adding that ministers, too, were not seen to be effectively engaging with the public. The Leader of Opposition alleged corruption in government offices, saying it has become a major problem from ordinary officials up to ministers, and that people are hesitant to approach government offices because the burden of corruption ultimately falls on the common man.
Sharma alleged that through the short Assembly session, the government was displaying its “failure” and “ego.” He appealed to the Speaker that there is still time to reconsider the session’s schedule and extend its duration to around 30 days. He also said the BJP Legislature Party has decided that its members will visit different districts to meet people directly and hear their issues and grievances, rising above party affiliations—(BuzzBytes)
