Jammu: An uproar erupted in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Wednesday when opposition PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para sought the restoration of the July 31 holiday, which was observed in the erstwhile state as ‘Martyrs Day, ’ and Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Sunil Kumar Sharma remarked that those killed were ‘traitors. ’
The holiday was observed in deference to the Martyrs of July 13, 1931, who were killed in a firing incident outside the Srinagar Central Jail during the reign of Maharaja Hari Singh.
During the discussion on the motion of thanks on the Lt. Governor’s address, Para demanded the restoration of the July 13 Martyrs’ Day holiday. ’ After Para had ended his speech, BJP leader Sunil Kumar Sharma stood up and objected to his demand.
“They were not martyrs, but traitors,” Sharma said, evoking widespread protests from the NC MLAs as well as from Kashmir-based opposition parties.
The leaders demanded that the remarks be expunged from the records of the House.
“These remarks were humiliating and divisive and should be withdrawn or expunged from the records,” demanded MLA Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat.
Amid continuous slogan shouting between the NC and BJP MLAs, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced that the remarks had been expunged from the records of the House.
All the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the House in protest against the expunging of Sharma’s remarks.
Later, Peoples Conference (PC) MLA Sajad Gani Lone demanded that the House pass a resolution for the restoration of holidays on Martyrs Day and on the birthday of NC founder, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
It must be mentioned that after J&K came under the direct Central rule, both July 13 and December 5 (the Birthday of NC founder) were removed from the list of holidays.
Instead, the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, was included in the list of holidays to be observed in the union territory.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah made an appearance in the Assembly Wednesday. Farooq Abdullah sat in the Speaker’s gallery along with NC leaders Nasir Aslam Wani, Ajay Sadhotra and Rattan Lal Gupta.
IANS
