Seven sittings, five effective days, NC Govt running away from people’s questions: Sunil Sharma

• NC Govt fears Assembly debate, cuts session to mere seven sittings: Sunil Sharma

JAMMU: Leader of Opposition in the J&K Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma, along with BJP MLAs Dr Narinder Singh, Ch. Vikram Randhawa, Yudhvir Sethi, Adv. R.S. Pathania and Surinder Kumar Bhagat, and J&K BJP Media Incharge Dr. Pardeep Mahotra, strongly condemned the National Conference government for reducing the forthcoming Assembly session to merely seven sittings, saying that such a short session is nothing but an attempt to escape meaningful discussion, public accountability and scrutiny of the government’s performance.

Addressing a press conference at BJP Headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu, Sunil Sharma said that the elected government has been in office for nearly two years and the people of Jammu & Kashmir have legitimate and very high expectations from their elected representatives. “The Assembly is the constitutional platform where the voice, grievances and aspirations of the people are brought before the government. But the NC government is making a mockery of this democratic institution by restricting the Assembly to an unreasonably short session,” he said.

Sharma pointed out that although seven sittings have been announced, one sitting has been kept for the for the beginning of proceedings, while another has been designated for ‘Business, if any’, effectively leaving only around five meaningful sittings for discussion on the issues of the people. “How can the concerns of an entire Union Territory be discussed, debated and answered in merely five effective sittings? This is not serious governance, this is an attempt to avoid questions,” he said.

Sharma said BJP, as the principal Opposition, will not remain silent on this issue. We are serious about the people’s issues and we expect the government to be equally serious. The NC government cannot run away from the Assembly simply because it does not want to face uncomfortable questions on its failures, Sharma asserted.

Sharma said BJP MLAs have undertaken extensive public outreach across Jammu & Kashmir and met people at district headquarters and different locations. “People are frustrated. They are asking us to take their issues to the Assembly because they still believe that their elected representatives can question the government and seek answers. We have compiled a comprehensive list of public issues through marathon meetings of BJP legislators and are fully prepared to raise them forcefully,” he said.

Sharma further said that routine governance has weakened on the ground, public outreach by the government is missing and complaints of corruption are increasing. A common citizen should not feel afraid to enter a government office because of corruption or red-tapism. The government must answer the people on these issues, he said.

Questioning the functioning of the Assembly Speaker, Sharma said that the Speaker is expected to function impartially and protect the dignity of the House and democratic traditions. He said that the Business Advisory Committee meeting was reduced to a mere formality, with the dates and business already decided and Opposition members given no meaningful opportunity to deliberate. If everything is already fixed and there is no time for discussion, then inviting members merely to complete a formality is nothing but an eyewash, he said.

The Leader of Opposition demanded that the Assembly session be extended to at least one month so that public issues can be debated comprehensively and the government can be held accountable. “The Speaker should rise above party considerations and take a decision in the interest of the people. The Assembly belongs to the people of J&K, not to the NC,” Sharma said.

The BJP leaders reiterated that the party will use every available democratic and constitutional forum to raise the people’s concerns and will not allow the NC government to escape accountability by simply shutting down meaningful debate in the Assembly.