Srinagar, Sept 29: The Assembly on Tuesday witnessed a heated uproar after Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma again sought the removal of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, questioning whether the House had exceeded its jurisdiction in passing the resolution on restoration of statehood.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday passed a resolution for the restoration of statehood amid pandemonium and a walkout by BJP MLAs.
As the House began proceedings, Sharma and other BJP members objected to portions of the resolution, particularly references linked to the 2000 autonomy resolution. The BJP has maintained that it supports restoration of statehood but opposes references to autonomy.
During the noisy exchanges, Sharma questioned the procedure followed in taking up the resolution, prompting the Speaker to intervene.
Rather said that as per the rules, the motion seeking his removal would be listed and taken up after 14 days.
As the uproar continued, the Speaker asserted his authority over the proceedings and warned the protesting members against disrupting the House.
"I will not allow hooliganism," Rather said, reminding the Opposition that he had already explained the procedure and issued the required notice.
"You have raised questions on my credibility, that is okay. But don't try to teach me. I know my role and duty," Rather told the protesting members.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary hit back at the Opposition, saying elected representatives had been sent to the Assembly by the people of Jammu and Kashmir to raise issues concerning their interests.
"When you came here for discussion, you disturbed the House and sat down," Choudhary said, accusing the BJP members of disrupting proceedings instead of participating in the debate.
He said the Assembly should be used to discuss issues concerning the people, including development, employment, education, sports and elections, rather than raising slogans.
The exchanges further intensified the confrontation between the treasury benches and the Opposition, with repeated interruptions disrupting proceedings.
The BJP legislators subsequently staged a walkout from the House. They returned to House after some time