Two MLAs marshalled out of J&K assembly

Two legislators were marshalled out of Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Wednesday after an uproar over inter-district recruitments, which they alleged were against the people of backward districts of the state.

During the Question Hour, MLAs Engineer Abdul Rasheed (Independent) and Abdul Haq Khan (People's Democratic Party) raised the issue of inter-district recruitments and asked government to table a long pending bill which seeks amendment into it.

Rasheed alleged that government was deliberately sitting over the bill, which was sent to the select committee of assembly last year. The duo said the policy of inter-district recruitments should be done away with and the old method favouring people belonging to the concerned district should be adopted.

The inter-district recruitment was started during the period of Congress-led coalition government headed by Gulam Nabi Azad in 2006.

"It is affecting the career of the youth in backward and mountainous districts of the state. Without getting jobs, the youth will be forced to join militancy," they said.

Speaker Mohmmad Akbar Lone intervened and asked the legislators to take their seats but to no avail. The duo walked into the Well and raised slogans against the government for over ten minutes and later the Speaker instructed Marshals to evict them.

Irate over the use of force by Speaker, PDP members resorted to sloganeering and later staged a walkout in protest.

"There is total autocracy prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir. Is there any democracy? The government has failed to reply to our concern over inter-district recruitments," Rasheed told mediapersons.

Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs, meanwhile, walked out over the issue of cane charge on West Pakistani refugees demanding citizenship rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

They demanded a statement from the government on the floor of House over the use of brute force against refugees.

However, Speaker Lone pointed to BJP members and said: "West Pakistan refugees are our guests. They cannot be treated as citizens of the state."

BJP members had verbal duels with Speaker over the issue as they said over 1.5 lakh west Pakistani refugees living in Jammu from past 60 years do not have right to property, right to vote, right to get jobs in state government and admission in professional colleges.