While all private member’s resolutions which couldn’t be taken up due to repeated adjournments amidst pandemonium in the Legislative Assembly over Waqf Act have lapsed, all 33 private member’s bills are intact and will be taken up whenever the House meets for the next time.
“All 33 private member’s bills will remain valid. They will not lapse. The bills will be listed whenever the next Assembly session is held,” Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather told the Excelsior.
However, he confirmed that all private member’s resolutions which were listed in the House for two days have lapsed and will not be taken up again. A number of MLAs had tabled resolutions seeking restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
This has come as a big relief for the MLAs who spent lot of time in drafting the bills before submitting them to the Legislative Assembly for introduction.
“Drafting bill for a MLA is time-consuming exercise. For a Government bill, there are number of Government officers including the Law Department which drafts the bills but a legislator has to do this exercise on his own by consulting law books, taking opinion of legal experts etc while drafting the bill,” some of the MLAs said and expressed satisfaction that the bills will remain intact and will be listed in the next session.
The private member’s resolutions were listed in the Assembly on April 7 and 9 while the private member’s bills were due to be taken up on April 8. However, entire business of three days couldn’t be taken up in the House due to repeated adjournments amidst pandemonium over National Conference MLAs’ adjournment motions seeking suspension of business to discuss Waqf bill passed by the Parliament.
No business was taken up in the Assembly from April 7 to 9 which were last three days of the budget session. The House was adjourned sine die on April 9 by the Speaker.
The Assembly has to meet once in six months. As the House was adjourned sine die on April 9, it has to be convened again before October 9. The session, most likely a brief one, could be held in Srinagar in September this year.
From appointment of first-ever Lokayukta in Jammu and Kashmir to implementation of Anti-Defection Law in District Development Councils (DDCs), imposition of prohibition, regularization of daily wagers and contractual staff, amendment in reservations, vesting ownership rights of Evacuee Property, block level recruitment and setting up of the J&K Legislative Forum for Monitoring and Protection of Human Rights, the legislators had submitted 33 private member’s bills in the Assembly.
CPM MLA MY Tarigami had given the Jammu and Kashmir Lokayukta Bill through which he had demanded appointment of Lokayukta in the Union Territory.
Four legislators had sought ban on liquor in Jammu and Kashmir through separate private member’s bills tabled by them in the Legislature.
They included NC veteran Ali Mohammad Sagar, a former Minister, Ahsan Pardesi (NC), Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad (Awami Ittehad Party) and Mir Mohammad Fayaz (PDP).
Khursheed, through a separate bill, had also sought ban on Online Gaming and Fantasy League.
Regularization of daily wagers and contractual workers figured through the private member’s bills tabled by PDP’s Waheed ur Rehman Para and NC’s Saifullah Mir (former Law Minister) besides others.
BJP MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia though a bill titled Jammu and Kashmir Temples and Land Protection Bill had sought restoration of entire encroached land of religious places.
Through Jammu and Kashmir Evacuee Property Bill, the BJP MLA had sought property rights for the owners. His third bill sought skill training for the youth as envisioned in the National Educational Policy (NEP).
Another BJP MLA RS Pathania had submitted a significant bill seeking implementation of Anti-Defection Law in the District Development Councils (DDCs).
Congress MLA Nizam ud Din Bhat had sought the constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Forum for Monitoring and Protection of Human Rights through his private member’s bill. Through another bill, Bhat had sought block level recruitment.
NC MLA Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri had submitted the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) bill.
NC MLA Mubarak Gul had submitted the Jammu and Kashmir Social Security to Unemployed Technocrats and Professional Degree Holders bill seeking social security for them till they get the jobs. He had also brought the Salaries, Allowance and Other Benefits of the Chief Whip bill in the Legislative Assembly.
BJP MLA Pawan Gupta had tabled two significant bills including The Jammu and Kashmir Government Services (Compassionate Appointments) and The Jammu and Kashmir Excise (Amendment) Bill. (Excelsior)
