Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today said that Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has the distinction of being the most power assembly in the country as it has the powers to make legislations for the State.“After Parliament, only J&K Assembly has the powers to make legislations which gives it the distinction of being unique and empowered legislature in the country,” the Chief Minister said while addressing an impressive function in the lawns of the Legislature complex here organized in connection with conferring of Best Legislator Awards and Letter of Appreciation to the legislators for the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.Chairman Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, Deputy Chairman Legislative Council, Jehangir Hussain Mir, Deputy Speaker Legislative Assembly, Mr Nazir Gurezi, Council of Ministers, Legislators and senior officers including Chief Secretary, B R Sharma and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Kumar Choudhary were present on the occasion.
The Chief Minister said J&K Assembly is “the most powerful in entire country.” “Our Assembly has the power and prerogative to accept or reject any law passed by the Parliament,” she said adding that is the basic essence of Article-370 of the Constitution of India.The Chief Minister said it is equally true that due to the prevailing situation in Kashmir, most of the politicians have to make huge sacrifices, sometimes even risking their lives to reach this august House. “Some of the legislators have even sacrificed their lives and I pay my heartfelt tributes to them on this occasion for the blood they have shed for strengthening the democratic institutions in the State,” she said.Ms Mehbooba hailed the legislators for effectively highlighting the problems confronting the State and its people in the House and urged them to continue with the same zeal. “I assure you that, cutting across the party lines, the Government will give you enough space and time to highlight the issues of public importance,” she said.
The Chief Minister felicitated the legislators who were conferred with Best Legislator awards and Letter of Appreciation. She also thanked them for contributing the award money of Rs 1 lakh each to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund as a token of respect for the former Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.Speaking on the occasion, Speaker Legislative Assembly, Mr Kavinder Gupta felicitated the legislators who were conferred with Best Legislator awards and Letter of Appreciation. He said the House comprises of mostly of newly elected legislators, as out of 87 members 58 are first-timers, who will take inspiration from their seniors in legislative business.He also hailed the staff of the Assembly Secretariat for their untiring efforts in facilitating smooth legislative business.The Best Legislator Award for the year 2012-13 was conferred on Choudhary Zulfkar Ali (Minister for CA&PD), for the year 2013-14 it was given to Abdul Haq Khan (Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj) and for the year 2014-15 the award went to Mr G M Saroori (MLA).The Best Legislator award comprises a Gold Medal, Citation and Rs 1 lakh cash.The Letter of appreciation for the year 2012-13 was given to Mr G A Mir (former-MLA), Javaid Mustafa Mir (sitting MLA), Jughal Kishore (MP) and Nazir Ahmad Gurezi (Dy Speaker).For the year 2013-14 Letter of Appreciation was given to Mohammad Sharief Niaz (former-MLA), Nizam-ud-Din Bhat (former-MLA), Er Abdul Rashid (sitting MLA) and Choudhary Sukhnandan Kumar (sitting MLA).
For the year 2014-15 Letter of Appreciation was given to Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi (sitting MLA), Ashok Khajuria (MLC), Rafi Ahmad Mir (former MLA) and Syed Basharat Ahmed Bukhari (Minister for Revenue) and Peerzada Mansoor Hussain (former MLA).The Award committee comprised former Minister Mr Ali Mohammad Naik, former Member Parliament Mirza Abdul Rashid and Journalist Sandeep Bhat.Secretary Assembly, Mohammad Ramzan and Secretary Legislative Council, Abdul Majid, besides the staff of Assembly and Council Secretariat were also present on the occasion.Pertinently, the practice of conferring Best Legislator awards was started by the State Assembly by constituting the first Award Committee in 2002.The Best Legislator Award for the year 2000-01 was conferred to Sheikh Abdul Rehman, for 2001-02 it was given to Mr Harshdev Singh, for 2002-03 it went to Mr Abdul Rahim Rather, for 2003-04 it was given to Mr M Y Tarigami, for 2004-05 it went to Mir Saifullah, for 2005-06 it was given to Dr Mehboob Beigh, for 2006-07 it went to Mr Ali Mohammad Sagar, for 2009-10 it went to Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, for 2010-11 it went to A R Veeri and for 2011-12 it went to Dr Mustafa Kamal.