Cong-PDP showdown on Friday

While the NC and PDP have issued a whip to their members to favour the Bill, the Congress and Panthers Party have done exactly the opposite.

Today, when NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather tabled the Private Member’s J-K Permament Resident (Disqualification) Bill, Congress members, especially from Jammu and Ladakh region – were on their feet as their Kashmir counterparts looked on. Shouting slogans against its introduction, the members asked the Speaker not to admit it and put it to vote without discussion.

Chaos broke out when NC legislators Ali Mohammad Sagar and Dilawar Mir asked Speaker Tara Chand to admit the Bill in the Assembly through simple majority vote while the Congress pressed for two-thirds majority. Intervening, Law and Parliamentary Minister Muzaffar Hussian Beigh asked the Speaker if it was his discretion to employ simple or two-thirds majority vote for introduction of the Bill.

When the Speaker asked for a two-thirds majority, only PDP MLAs stood up in favour of the Bill while their NC counterparts protested, prompting Tara Chand to adjourn the House till Friday.