Omar meets Governor, says majority voice ignored in state legislature

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 1

National Conference working president Omar Abdullah today led a delegation of his party legislators to Raj Bhawan and submitted two memorandums to Governor NN Vohra in which they claimed that the government ignored “the majority voice” in the House.

Omar led the delegation to protest the PDP-BJP coalition government’s referral of the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, to the Select Committee of the House.

In a statement, the NC said the delegation submitted two memorandums regarding “the government’s sabotage of the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the regressive, overt attempt to weaken the panchayati raj system in the state through the J&K Panchayti Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2016.”

The party termed the state government’s decision to send the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill to the Select Committee as an “undemocratic sabotage” and a “dent to the dignity and honour of the State Legislature.”

In the course of the discussions on the Bill, it had emerged that the entire House, barring BJP, was “of the considered opinion that the Bill should be passed,” the party said.

“The government realised that if put to vote, the Bill shall pass with a majority even if the BJP legislators stand to oppose it. As soon as this realisation dawned on the government, the Minister for Relief was on his feet and he requested the Speaker to refer the Bill to the Select Committee of the House,” said the memorandum on the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill. 

In its second memorandum, the party said the government was making a “regressive attempt to weaken the panchayati raj system through the Panchayti Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2016.”