After years away from the political spotlight of the House, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti visited the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly here on Monday and called for joint efforts by the government and opposition to restore the strength and dignity of the legislature.
She visited the Assembly for the first time since 2018, when her PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed after the latter withdrew support to her.
Mehbooba made the remark while speaking to media persons after watching the Assembly proceedings from the Speaker’s gallery.
She said that “both government and opposition should work together to reverse the disempowerment in 2019”.
Referring to the day’s proceedings, during which private members’ bills were moved, Mehbooba said, “We have brought many bills to rebuild this Assembly and restore people’s trust, including those related to daily wagers, land rights and regional issues.”
The PDP chief remained present for some time during the Question Hour. Four of her party MLAs were present, and one of them, Rafiq Ahmad Naik, lauded Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for a “satisfactory and detailed” reply to a question related to tourism in the Union Territory.
“Today, I visited the Assembly and felt good. It especially reminded me of my father, Mufti Mohd Sayeed. Our Assembly is a very important institution. However, its value and authority have, in one way or another, been diminished since 2019,” she said, referring to the year when the Centre revoked the special status of J&K and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs.
Emphasising that her party would support the efforts to rebuild the institution gradually, she said, “The PDP will certainly play its role, but the ruling party (NC) also has a major responsibility. I firmly believe that through collective efforts of both the government and the opposition, the lost strength of the J&K Assembly can be restored.”
She also said the PDP has introduced several bills in the House that do not necessarily require statehood, as they can be passed “within the existing framework,” referring to bills like the creation of new divisions and districts and granting ownership rights to poor people living on small pieces of land for many years.
The PDP president referred to the poll promises of the National Conference and said it is the government’s responsibility to fulfil them, especially those related to employment, reservation and regularisation.
On the West Asia crisis, Mehbooba said, “Iran is fighting for martyrdom. On the other hand, the soldiers of the US and Israel are running away. The victory will be of Iran.”