The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today witnessed pandemonium, walkouts and a verbal duel between opposition PDP and BJP on inter-district recruitments even as several ruling NC members joined the protests over the issue.
During the Question Hour, PDP members Javed Mir and Abdul Haq and Independent member Engineer Rashid stood up from their benches and raised the issue. They shouted slogans like "Insaaf do" (give us justice) and 'inter-district recruitments bandh karo' (stop inter-district recruitments).
NC members Saif-ullah Mir and Kafil-ur-Rehman also joined them.
All of them walked into the well of the House and staged a dharna. Other PDP members soon followed them. Those opposing inter-district recruitment argue that it hurts of chances of local youths to get jobs.
PDP member Nizam-ud-Din Bhat demanded a reply from the government over the issue while JKNPP leader Harsh Dev Singh said that even ruling NC members are protesting and they have lost faith in their own government.
BJP MLAs led by their leader Chaman Lal Gupta, members of JKNPP and JSM stood up from their seats and raised slogans against the demands of PDP and NC, warning the government that no ban should be imposed on inter-district recruitments.
"The ban will be anti-Jammu and anti-Scheduled Cast and we will not tolerate it," BJP member Ashok Khajuria said.
A verbal dual soon broke out between members of the PDP, NC, BJP and JKNPP. The protests and dharna disrupted the proceedings of the House for over one hour.
Protesting against the "failure" of the government to make a statement on the issue on the floor of the House, PDP members staged a walkout.
Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone later made an assurance to the House that the bill on inter-district recruitments will be brought during this session and it will be discussed.
Following the statement of the Speaker, BJP also staged a walkout from the House.
The JKNPP leader told the media that the government has lost the moral authority to rule the state as the ruling NC members also seem to have "lost faith" in it.
"During my entire political career as an MLA, I have never seen ruling party members protesting and staging dharnas against their own government and embarrassing it," Singh said.
BJP leader Gupta told reporters that there is 8% reservation for SCs and STs in all districts and banning inter-district recruitments will hit their job prospects.
He warned the government not to impose such a ban saying, "If any step is taken by the government in this regard, we will not allow the House to function and also launch an agitation outside the House."
