Jammu, April 1: Legislators in Jammu and Kashmir united on Wednesday to protest the absence of senior bureaucrats during the assembly’s question hour. Members from various political parties expressed their concerns, with BJP lawmakers demanding accountability from departments whose administrative secretaries were missing.
During the session, Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, a member of the ruling National Conference (NC), criticized the bureaucrats for taking the assembly lightly. He pointed to the officials’ gallery and remarked, “Look at the gallery. This assembly is being taken lightly. I have been a member for 22 years, and this gallery used to be packed. The Chief Secretary was always present during question hour, along with the Commissioner Secretary.” He expressed that they seem to view the legislators as irrelevant.
Gurezi urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take action against the bureaucrats. He insisted that they should attend the assembly sessions. “Do they think they are above the Chief Minister and the assembly? What do they consider themselves? They are government employees, and we are representatives of the public,” he stated.
His call for action received support from all BJP legislators, who stood in solidarity against the bureaucrats’ absence. Soon, members from the National Conference, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Congress, People’s Conference (PC), and independent legislators joined the protest.
Intervening in the matter, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather stated that top officials from the relevant departments should be present in the assembly when questions are raised. He noted, “We cannot ask the entire secretariat to sit in the house. There isn’t enough space in the officials’ gallery.”
BJP’s Shyam Lal Sharma emphasized that, according to the rules, the administrative secretary of the department in question must be present during discussions.
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