Speaker chairs all-party-meeting ahead of J&K assembly”s first budget session in 7 years

Jammu, Feb 27 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday urged the representatives of all political parties and independent legislators to cooperate during the upcoming budget session to ensure the productivity of the House.

Chairing an All-Party Meeting (APM) ahead of the session, which is scheduled to commence on March 3, the Speaker emphasised the need for dialogue, coordination, and consensus-building to facilitate smooth legislative proceedings.

This will be the first budget of the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government since assuming power in October last year, marking the end of a six-year central rule.

The last budget session took place in 2018 during the PDP-BJP government in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was bifurcated into two Union Territories in August 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma, along with his BJP colleague Surjeet Singh Slathia, Mubarak Gul of the National Conference, G A Mir of Congress, Mohd Yousuf Tarigami of CPI(M), PDP’s Waheed ur Rehman Parra, and independent legislator Muzaffar Iqbal Khan attended the meeting, an official spokesman said.

In his opening remarks, the Speaker emphasised the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and consensus-building for effective proceedings and productivity of the House.

He urged the representatives of all parties to contribute actively in discussions and debates, as MLAs play a vital role in highlighting issues of public welfare during the session.

“The budget session is a crucial time for policy deliberations and financial planning. I urge all of you and your members to engage in meaningful debates, uphold the decorum of the House, and work towards the collective good of our people and the entire Jammu and Kashmir,” Rather said.

Highlighting the significance of Question Hour, the Speaker encouraged the legislators to make the most of this opportunity to hold the government accountable.

“Question Hour is a key tool that ensures government accountability. Legislators must utilise this time effectively to raise public concerns and seek concrete responses,” he said.

The Speaker called upon all the political parties to ensure effective coordination throughout the entire session of the House.

He underlined that the productivity of the House is only possible when there is coordination between the opposition and the government in highlighting people’s issues and addressing them respectively.

Speaking during the meeting, Sharma said that public issues need to be highlighted during the assembly session, which is only possible if disruptions are avoided.

He highlighted that the credibility of MLAs is at stake during the proceedings of the House, and members need to be responsive to public issues, holding the government accountable, rather than indulging in disruptions.

He assured the Speaker that the legislators of his party would ensure the smooth business of the House.

In his remarks during the meeting, Mir of INC said that, as an important tool for making the government accountable, Question Hour should not be disrupted.

Tarigami emphasised that the accountability of the government is only possible through the smooth conduct of House proceedings.

He also called for coordination between the government and the opposition to make House proceedings productive and fruitful.

During the meeting, NC Legislator Gul said that public issues need to be highlighted during the assembly proceedings, as legislators are the face of the people during the session.

PDP’s Parra and independent legislator Khan sought proportionate time for all MLAs when raising public issues during the business of the House.

The Speaker assured all parties that their concerns and suggestions would be duly considered for fair and impartial proceedings of the House.

He highlighted that the road for a productive budget session had been laid with this fruitful meeting.