 Sandeep Bhat
Early Times Report
Jammu, July 12: Amid a heated political row over the demand to reinstate July 13 as a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, on Saturday dismissed PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s recent claims as “misleading and factually incorrect.”
Two days earlier, Mehbooba Mufti had alleged that the Legislative Assembly had rejected a resolution moved by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, which sought official recognition of July 13 as Martyrs’ Day. She made the remarks via a social media post, accusing the ruling National Conference of historical inconsistency and double standards on the issue.
In a strong rebuttal, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather clarified that the resolution in question was, in fact, admitted during the Budget Session 2025–26, held in March in Jammu. “The statement made by the PDP president is not based on facts and is therefore misleading,” he said.
Providing procedural details, the Speaker said the Assembly Secretariat received 111 resolutions from 34 members. Of these, 87 were admitted for balloting, and the rest were disallowed in accordance with established rules. Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra had submitted four resolutions, two of which were admitted. One of them specifically called for “declaring July 13 as an official holiday to commemorate the sacrifices of protestors against autocr Mehbooba Mufti had alleged that the Legislative Assembly had rejected a resolution moved by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, which sought official recognition of July 13 as Martyrs’ Day.
She made the remarks via a social media post, accusing the ruling National Conference of historical inconsistency and double standards on the issue.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather clarified that the resolution in question was, in fact, admitted during the Budget Session 2025–26, held in March in Jammu.
The resolution submitted by Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, though admitted, did not secure a place through the balloting process. Hence, the matter did not reach the floor of the House.
Parra was duly informed about the admission of his resolution through Assembly Secretariat Bulletin No. LA1353/Legn/2025, dated March 14, 2025.
As per the prescribed procedure, the relative precedence of Private Members’ Resolutions was determined through balloting, conducted under Rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the J&K Legislative Assembly. The balloting, held on March 25, 2025, in the presence of seven members, selected 14 resolutions for discussion, which were subsequently listed for deliberation on April 7 and 9.
“The resolution submitted by Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, though admitted, did not secure a place through the balloting process. Hence, the matter did not reach the floor of the House,” the Speaker explained.
He emphasized that the position of Speaker is one of neutrality and must not be misconstrued. “It is factually incorrect to claim that the resolution was rejected outright by the Speaker. Due process was followed strictly in accordance with the rules,” he asserted.
Earlier, Mehbooba Mufti had alleged that the Assembly had deliberately silenced her party’s efforts to honor the memory of the 22 protesters killed on July 13, 1931, during the uprising against Dogra rule. Accusing the National Conference of "double-speak" on Kashmir's history, she had said, “Their silence proves complicity, not commitment.” |
