PDP-BJP alliance bulldozes pro-beef Bills after assault on Er Rashid

○ CM condemns assault, Dy CM refuses to condemn or apologise

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
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SRINAGAR, Oct 8: Strictly as per the strategy STATE TIMES had exposed on October 2nd, the PDP-BJP coalition on Thursday bulldozed all the three pro-beef Bills of the Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly with the argument that no time was left for the scheduled item of the introduction of Private Members Bills.

Chaos and confusion marked the proceedings in both Houses of Legislature as the ruling BJP MLAs assaulted independent MLA Engineer Rashid in Assembly even before the Speaker's arrival at 9.55 a.m. As soon as Rashid entered the House and was about to take his seat, BJP MLAs Ravinder Raina, Shakti Parihar, Gagan Bhagat, Neelam Langeh and Rajiv Sharma accosted him without any instant provocation and roughed him up.

The MLA was pulled, pushed, slapped and dragged even as he too attempted to retaliate with full force.

While he was being manhandled, members of the opposition----Mohammad Akbar Lone, Altaf Wani and Majid Bhat of NC, Usman Majid of Congress and Hakeem Mohammad Yasin---rushed to Rashid's rescue. The BJP members said that they were "emotionally outraged" over so-called beef party which Rashid had organised on the previous evening at MLAs Hostel.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was in chair while as Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed arrived a little after the physical assault on the MLA.

With the Speaker's entry, Omar got up amid a protest by the united opposition and condemned the assault. He said hooliganism in the House was completely unwarranted and unacceptable. He alleged that with the assault on an MLA, BJP had established its involvement in the lynching of a Muslim Mohammad Akhlaq who died in an attack in Dadri, close to the union capital, last month.

Omar said that whatever the provocation, the assault could not be justified. "Slaughtering a swine and eating its meat as well as consumption of liquor is prohibited in my religion. Does that mean we we can attack the people taking the swine flesh and liquor?", Omar shouted. He said that never before had a member been assaulted in the state Legislature this way.

Even as the entire Opposition walked out in protest, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed severely condemned the attack on the MLA. He implored members to control their emotions and sentiments. He asserted that the Legislature's sanctity and credibility should not be undermined in any circumstances.

Dy CM Nirmal Singh did neither condemn the attack nor apologise to the MLA on behalf of his party. He, however, said "it should not have happened".

"I don't approve of it", Dy CM asserted.

In both the Houses, BJP leaders linked the assault to Rashid's organising so-called beef party at MLAs Hostel on Wednesday evening. In Legislative Council, Law Minister Basharat Bukhari condemned the attack on Rashid and said his beef party should not have prompted BJP members to attack a colleague. Some BJP MLCs confronted Bukhari aggressively and shouted on him that their religious sentiments had been outraged.

Referring to the recent developments, Bukhari said that High Court had called for prosecution of the people under RPC. Subsequently Supreme Court stayed the High Court order for two months. As such nobody could presently stop a Muslim from consuming beef. Even as the Minister was critical of the MLA's way of holding a beef party, BJP members almost grappled with him.

Amid a chain of chaos and unruly scenes, Speaker in the Lower House announced adjournment of the House till Friday pleading that no time was left to take up the scheduled pro-beef Bills. He contended that Business Advisory Committee had in the past decided that there would be only one sitting and that would expire at 1.30 pm. He did not listen to the united Opposition's demand that the time be extended and discussion on the three Bills be taken up. Opposition asserted that Speaker was conveniently invoking the minutes of a Business Advisory Committee meeting of 2012. It claimed that no such decision had been taken by BAC for the current session.

PDP's Ministers Basharat Bukhari and Abdul Haq Khan supported Speaker's contention that the time for today's sitting was limited to only 1.30 pm.

END

[Published in today's STATE TIMES]