9-day J&K LA session from Oct 23

Jammu, Oct 9: J&K Legislative Assembly will meet for its nine-day autumn session from October 23 to 31 at Srinagar.

As per the provisional calendar issued by Speaker Legislative Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday, the session will open on October 23 with the obituary references.

Business will only be conducted on six days.

October 24 will be an off-day on account of the biennial elections to four vacant seats of the Rajya Sabha from J&K.

October 25 will also be an off-day.

Three days – October 27, 30, and 31 - have been earmarked for government business.

One day each has been earmarked for taking up Private Members’ Bills (October 28) and Private Members’ Resolutions (October 29).

October 26 will be a holiday on account of Sunday.

The session would be stormy – was already anticipated with a long list of issues, including statehood; business rules pending approval of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha; slack pace of flood relief and restoration works, and detention of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

The latest issue, which would surely add to the turbulence in the session related to a Private Member’s Bill – The J&K Land Grants (Restoration and Protection) Bill.

The announcement by the PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, that his party MLA will bring this bill in the ensuing session has already triggered a war of words with the NC and BJP as well.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the J&K Legislature, Sunil Kumar Sharma, while speaking to media persons in Jammu, described this bill as an attempt by the PDP to stay relevant by creating a hate-narrative against the BJP in the ensuing Budgam assembly by-poll.

“PDP leadership is trying to give legal cover to land-grabbers across J&K. BJP will never allow this to happen. We will oppose it tooth and nail,” he said.