SRINAGAR: In a controversial move, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced the formation of a nine-member committee to draft rules of procedure for conducting business in the House, excluding several key regional parties, including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Peoples Conference.
The committee, constituted under Rule 363 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, will include eight MLAs and the Speaker as its ex-officio chairman.
It has been tasked with finalizing the draft rules before the commencement of the upcoming Budget session. However, the absence of representation from the aforementioned parties has raised political tensions.
The panel comprises three MLAs from the National Conference (NC), two from the BJP, and one each from Congress and CPI-M, alongside an independent legislator aligned with the ruling coalition. The NC, which also holds the Speaker’s chair, dominates the committee. Members include Mubarak Gul (NC), Justice (Retired) Hasnain Masoodi (NC), Saifullah Mir (NC), Nizamuddin Bhat (Congress), Pawan Kumar Gupta (BJP), Ranbir Singh Pathania (BJP), Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami (CPI-M), and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (independent).
The exclusion of regional parties like the PDP and AIP has sparked criticism.
Inam Un Nabi, spokesperson for the AIP, expressed outrage on social media platform X, accusing the NC of betraying its electoral promises. “Excluding staunch advocates of Article 370 & 35A from the Assembly Rules Committee is yet another betrayal by the NC. Their cozying up to BJP, sidelining regional voices, and abandoning electoral promises expose their hypocrisy,” he wrote.
The move has also drawn attention to the growing divide in regional politics, with smaller parties like AIP and AAP accusing the major players of monopolizing legislative processes and sidelining grassroots concerns.