The opening day of the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Wednesday turned stormy.
The opening day of the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Wednesday turned stormy as ruling National Conference (NC) and opposition BJP legislators clashed over references to former governor late Satya Pal Malik. (Image Source: X.com/ANI)
Srinagar: The opening day of the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Wednesday turned stormy as ruling National Conference (NC) and opposition BJP legislators clashed over references to former governor late Satya Pal Malik during the obituary proceedings.
Tensions flared when NC MLA Bashir Veeri described Malik’s role in the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 as “controversial,” prompting an immediate protest from BJP member Sham Lal Sharma, who demanded that Veeri’s remarks be struck off the record.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather urged Veeri to maintain decorum and show respect to the deceased but declined Sharma’s request to expunge the remarks, further intensifying the uproar in the House.
Congress legislative party leader G. A. Mir took a more conciliatory tone, calling Malik “a good leader outspoken and popular.” Mir added, “He might have benefitted from the abrogation of Article 370, but he suffered as well. We saw how he struggled in his final days to speak his truth before the people.”
PDP MLA Rafiq Naik also urged restraint, saying, “We may have differences, but since he has left us, we should speak good of him.” Naik briefly attempted to raise the issue of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik’s detention under the Public Safety Act, but Speaker Rather interjected, reminding him, “You are speaking on obituary references, and he (Mehraj Malik) is still alive.”
CPI(M) MLA M. Y. Tarigami, however, emphasized that respect and accountability must coexist. “Obituary does not mean we do not learn lessons,” he said. “A person entrusted with public responsibility should be assessed for his actions. Even criticism can be made within the bounds of decency.”
Adding his voice, Awami Ittehad Party MLA Sheikh Khursheed described Malik as “an honest politician” who later championed farmers’ issues, saying that “constructive criticism should always be welcomed.”
The BJP benches, however, lauded Malik’s legacy. Party MLA Vikram Randhawa said August 5, the day Article 370 was revoked would remain “a historic day” for Jammu and Kashmir. “Satya Pal Malik was no ordinary man; he was appointed governor of five states because of his capability. It was a coincidence that he breathed his last on August 5, a date etched in the history of J&K,” Randhawa said, triggering protests from several NC members.
Satya Pal Malik, who passed away in August this year, was the tenth and last governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. In his long political career, he also served as governor of Bihar, Odisha, Goa, and Meghalaya.
