PDP, NC lock horns during Budget session

The current Budget session in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly saw an ugly war of words between the members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party and opposition National Conference and the Congress. 

PDP MLA of Batamaloo Noor Mohammad accused Congress MLA of Bandipora Usman Majeed of being involved in killings and kidnappings. Noor said on the floor of the House that he was abducted twice by Majeed when he was heading the government militia of counter insurgents along with Kuka Parray. He alleged that his father had on two occasions made payments to Majeed to secure his release. Majeed retorted by accusing PDP members to be militants and submitted a breach of privilege motion against Mohammad.

PDP and NC MLAs joined in, with each accusing the other to be “agents of Pakistan” and “separatists”. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who rejected opposition’s demand for a judicial probe in the killings that took place in the months’ long unrest which started in July 2016, claimed that the unrest was pre-planned and engineered. She blamed the separatists and Pakistan for stalling her efforts of dialogue and the peace process. CM Mehbooba gave a clean chit to the security forces and the local police, saying the two were not involved in damaging properties.

CM Mehbooba, meanwhile, is facing flak from ally BJP for her decision to compensate victim families with a job to one family member and an additional amount of Rs 5 lakh. BJP has said that this would encourage separatism in Kashmir and discourage the police and the security forces.

CM Mehbooba has also been criticised for contradictory announcements. On the one hand, she has said that a special investigation team will probe only two out of the 97 civilian killings, and on the other, she has asked the district level investigation teams to probe other killings, too. She has earlier also said that the separatists have used children to attack police stations and to provoke security forces for coercion.

Many opposition members and civil rights activists have questioned the wisdom of the government in announcing compensation and jobs to all the families of the victims, while maintaining that only two killings were worth probing.

The families of the victims have rejected the government version that most of the killings were because of attacks on police posts and security camps.