Assembly adjourned sine die

Srinagar, Oct 31: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was on Friday adjourned sine die by Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, marking the conclusion of the nine-day autumn session that saw largely smooth proceedings, except for a few noisy moments.

The session witnessed the passage of five government bills and the discussion of two private members’ resolutions, one of which was passed.

Elections to four Rajya Sabha seats were also held during the session.

Giving an overview of the business transacted, Speaker Rather said the Assembly Secretariat had received 732 questions from members, of which 682 were admitted.

“A total of 29 questions were taken up for discussion, and 73 supplementaries were raised,” he said.

The Speaker said that 97 issues were raised during Zero Hour, terming it “unprecedented” and lauding members for highlighting public concerns.

The House also received 14 new private members’ bills in addition to 33 pending from previous sessions.

Of the 41 private bills listed for discussion, only eight were debated, all either withdrawn after government assurances or defeated by voice vote at the introduction stage.

During the sittings, 67 calling attention notices were submitted, with 10 taken up for discussion. Fourteen private members’ resolutions were admitted, with one passed.

The proceedings were briefly disrupted on Thursday when BJP legislators staged a walkout after the Speaker rejected an adjournment motion by MLA Udhampur, Pawan Gupta, seeking a discussion on the condition of flood victims in J&K.

After adjourning the House sine die at 1:02 pm, Speaker Rather expressed satisfaction over the overall conduct of the session.

“As the presiding officer of this House, I tried to give time to every member. However, some time was wasted during the proceedings, and I hope members will take care of this in the future. We are here to raise the issues of the people,” he said.

The Speaker thanked all members and Assembly Secretariat staff for their cooperation, saying, “I am happy that every member tried to highlight issues concerning the public. Everyone in this House is equal to me. I sit in this Chair to do justice to this institution.”