Srinagar, May 13 (JKNS): Political controversy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday after the constitution of House Committees in the Legislative Assembly, with the opposition BJP alleging that the ruling alliance was given overwhelming control over key panels while opposition representation was largely ignored.
Speaker of the J&K Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather constituted 13 House Committees, including three major financial committees, according to official notifications issued on Wednesday, as per news agency JKNS.
As per the notifications, the Speaker will serve as ex-officio chairman of four committees, while nine committees will be headed by elected MLAs from different political parties. Out of these nine MLA-headed panels, eight chairmanships have gone to legislators belonging to the ruling National Conference-led alliance and its supporting parties, while the BJP secured chairmanship of only one committee.
National Conference legislators Nazir Gurezi, Mir Saifullah, Justice (Retd.) Hasnain Masoodi, Farooq Ahmad Shah and Ali Mohammad Sagar were appointed heads of the Estimates Committee, Public Undertakings Committee, Privileges Committee, Petitions Committee and Assurances Committee respectively. BJP leader Surjeet Slathia was appointed chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, while CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Independent MLA Muzaffar Iqbal Khan and Congress legislator Nizamuddin Bhat were assigned Environment, Subordinate Legislation and Ethics Committees respectively.
Reacting sharply to the development, Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma accused the Speaker of adopting a partisan approach and alleged that the Assembly was being turned into a “party office” of the ruling National Conference.
In a statement, Sharma said the decision to allocate eight out of nine committee chairmanships to ruling alliance legislators was against the spirit of proportional representation and undermined the mandate of the opposition. He maintained that while Assembly rules empower the Speaker to nominate committee heads, such powers should be exercised in a balanced and fair manner.
The BJP leader further stated that the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly belongs to the people of the Union Territory and not to any particular political party, asserting that the opposition would continue to raise its voice against what he termed as “unfair political domination” in the House committees. (JKNS)
