Jammu, Sep 28 (PTI) National Conference Provincial President Rattan Lal Gupta on Monday termed the conduct of the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma and other BJP MLAs during the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly proceedings on the statehood resolution as “condemnable, undemocratic and unjustified.”
Addressing a gathering of Women wing workers of the party here, Gupta said the statehood resolution was a legitimate matter before the elected Legislative Assembly and was ultimately passed by the House.
“Instead of participating constructively in the debate and placing their views before the House, the LoP and other BJP legislators resorted to repeated protests, sloganeering and disruption of the proceedings…the manner in which the LoP and other BJP MLAs behaved was condemnable, undemocratic and unjustified,” he said.
Gupta said once the resolution was before the House, the responsibility of every elected representative was to participate in the democratic process, put forward arguments and allow the Assembly to conduct its business peacefully.
“Creating disorder and repeatedly obstructing the proceedings of the House cannot serve the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding that the BJP’s conduct was particularly “unjustified” because restoration of statehood has been a publicly stated political commitment of the BJP-led central government.
“If the BJP had substantive objections to the wording or references contained in the resolution, its members could have placed those objections on record through debate and amendments rather than disrupting the functioning of the House,” he said.
Gupta said the mandate of the elected assembly must be respected and differences of opinion should be expressed through parliamentary and democratic means.
He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are watching the proceedings closely and want restoration of full statehood, democratic dignity and constitutional rights.
The assembly’s passage of the resolution represents the position expressed by the majority of the House and should not be undermined through repeated disruption, he said.
“Democracy does not mean agreeing on every issue; it means respecting the institution, allowing debate and accepting the outcome of due legislative proceedings. The people expect their elected representatives to uphold the dignity of the assembly,” he added. PTI TAS TAS MDO
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