Ruckus in J&K assembly after Engineer Rashid's brother displays banner on Article 370, session adjourned briefly

Opposition leaders aggressively protested in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Thursday, and this prompted the speaker to briefly suspend the proceedings as the BJP members began shouting slogans against the resolution which called for the establishment of special status for the former Jammu and Kashmir, which was recently passed.

Members of the BJP caused a commotion on the floor over the passage of the resolution’s demand for the Centre to formulate a constitutional framework to restore the special status of the former State which was passed by the House yesterday.

As BJP MLA, who is also the Leader of Opposition, Sunil Sharma was clarifying the resolution this time, an AIP leader and MLA from Langate Sheikh Khursheed leapt into the well of the house carrying a placard saying restore Articles 370 and 35A.

The reaction of the BJP members was one of anger. They too jumped into the well and took away the placard and tore it into pieces.

#WATCH | Srinagar: Session of J&K Assembly resumes after it was briefly adjourned following a ruckus when Engineer Rashid's brother & Awami Ittehad Party MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh displayed a banner on the restoration of Article 370.

Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, having stood up over the shouts, suspended the proceedings for 15 minutes.  However, it did not and the BJP members roamed around even when the House had been adjourned.

The House had been quiet as it was calm after the resolution was passed on Wednesday, but there was pandemonium again, as BJP members ratcheted the decibel levels, on which point the proceedings got disrupted again and the Speaker had to send the House home for the day.

J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary had moved the resolution which said, "That this legislative assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal."

In order to restore special status and constitutional safeguards, the JK Assembly called on the Indian government to start a dialogue with elected JK representatives and to work out constitutional procedures for doing so.