Ruckus in J-K Assembly over hanging of Afzal Guru

As soon as the House assembled in the morning,PDP member Syed Bashir drew Speaker’s attention towards the adjournment motion filed by them. He was followed by Tarigami saying he too has filed an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on the hanging of Afzal Guru and its aftermath in the Valley.

The Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh stood up as he wanted a discussion on the killing of a local villager from Akhnoor tehsil in a Pakistani jail and measures taken by the Central and state governments in getting back his body from across the border. While he was supported by BJP’s Jugal Kishore,Chaman Lal Gupta wanted discussion on damage caused to crops by hail storm.

Pointing out that he has received an adjournment motion from five NC members also,Assembly Speaker Mubarak Gul sought time to go into the nitty-gritty of the things before taking a decision. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had already made a statement on the issue,Mufti Sahib (PDP patron) too had written a letter to the Prime Minister,he told the agitating PDP members.

As Speaker asked PDP members for time,they trooped into the well of the House raising slogans against state government and demanding return of Afzal’s mortal remains to his family for last rites. Tarigami and Yasin stood up on their benches to press for the demand.

As Speaker’s repeated request failed to yield any result,NC’s Nasir Aslam Wani stood up saying they too want a discussion in the House as their members have also moved an adjournment motion.

While the agitating PDP members continued raising slogans,Engineer Rasid tried to break the mikes fitted on the table of the Assembly Secretary and reporting staff. As nothing was audible in the din,the House got adjourned first for 45 minutes and secondly for half an hour. However,as the agitating PDP members remained adamant on their demand,the Speaker finally adjourned the House for the day.

Outside the House,PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti accused chief minister and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah of playing politics on Afzal Guru issue. “Both the Abdullahs feel that they can remain in power by pleasing certain quarters in New Delhi,” Mehbooba Mufti said,asking despite being a part of UPA government at the Centre,why did they not put their foot down on the hanging of Afzal Guru. They should learn a lesson from Tamil Nadu and Punjab where governments have pressed the Centre not to hang the killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and former chief minister Beant Singh respectively,she said.