Senior legislator and CPI(M) leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami Wednesday said that, the Speaker's decision to adjourn the State Legislative Assembly sine-die ahead of its schedule is harmful for maintaining the sanctity of the legislature and democracy in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that without following the procedure, the laid down norms and without even exploring the possibility of overcoming the crisis created by a controversial statement of the Chief Minister regarding Article 370 on Tuesday, the Speaker ordered the sine die adjournment of the Assembly which amounts to disrespect of the house itself.“Quoting the precedence to deal with such situations in the Assembly”, CPI(M) MLA Tarigami said that there are two ways to settle any 'disorder or uncertainty' in the House. One, if the business of the House is not going on smoothly, either the House is adjourned for some time or the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meets to sort out the controversial issue which hampers the proceedings.
Another precedence is to hold a meeting with the leaders of, both the ruling and the opposition parties and reach a mutually acceptable decision. However the precedence and the traditions were not followed in this case and the house was adjourned in a bad taste.“The crisis for the government emerged as the alliance partners pulled in different directions for petty partisan interests. They have been doing so outside the Assembly since the alliance was formed; but on the floor of the House if these strange bed fellows continue to speak different languages and adopt different postures, wherein lies the common ground for the government to stand and survive? the CPI(M) legislator questioned?Recalling the statement of the Chief Minister on January 30, in which she said that those advocating scrapping of the Article 370 are ‘anti nationals.’ Tarigami said that on the demand of BJP members, the speaker first expunged the remarks, changed his position as the opposition challenged it and lodged a strong protest.
Later the Speaker said that after examining the records, he has felt that the Chief Minister did not mean what is being assigned and interpreted in regard to her statement. He tried to avoid a direct and exact statement. Earlier the speaker had told the house that the Chief Minister would herself explain and comment on the statement in the house itself but today he did not stick to this decision, despite the repeated requests made by the opposition in this regard. The opposition had contended that if the remarks of the leader of the House are expunged, it would amount to loss of confidence and the leader must resign.Tarigami said that the final decision of the speaker which resulted in the sine die adjournment of the house is a serious matter and harmful for the democratic process in the state. “The speaker didn't take into consideration, the aspirations and concerns of the members which is not a good sign and can harm the essence of democracy. The whole episode makes it clear that coalition partners are at logger heads and it is the alliance for the chair and not for protecting JK’s special status and offering a dignified life to people, the CPI (M) leader asserted.