Srinagar, Sept 30: The Legislative Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Thursday after Independent legislator Engineer Rashid termed Kashmir as a dispute and maintained that it is not an integral part of India. Members of Bhartiya Janata Party, Congress and National Conference unanimously opposed his stand.
The trouble erupted when Engineer Rashid during the obituary reference stated that Kashmir is not an integral part of India. “When India is saying it was ready to discuss Kashmir, that itself means Kashmir is a dispute. I don’t consider it as an integral part of India,” shouted Engineer who wore a black arm band as a mark of protest against the killings of 109 civilians in the Valley in past three months.
However, Panthers Party legislator Harsh Dev Singh interrupted him, saying “You have taken oath under the Indian Constitution and are terming Kashmir as a dispute.”
Dev was joined by BJP’s Ashok Khajuria. “Geelani (Hurriyat Chairman) is taking pension from India and you are singing to his tunes,” Khajuria shouted at Engineer Rashid.
National Conference leader Ali Muhammad Sagar tried to diffuse the situation by seeking intervention from Speaker Muhammad Akbar Lone.
“He (Engineer Rashid) is taking undue advantage of your leniency. Unfortunately he is playing politics on graves,” Sagar said. “You are an articulate speaker and speak chaste Urdu. But you downgrade your arguments by making unnecessary comments. I request you to change your behavior and maintain the decorum of the House,” he told Rashid.
Earlier, Engineer Rashid castigated the Government and legislators for the recent killings in the Valley.
“You should be ashamed. You are all agents of New Delhi. MLAs are seen as a symbol of occupation rather than symbols of reconciliation. The situation is such that you can’t even move out. I today offer obituary to the Government and police,” he shouted at the legislators.
Addressing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Rashid said, “You took a step from Bomai but after that some power stopped you to action against the accused men in uniform. The Government has lost so much control that even a decision of releasing detained youth is taken by the Home Minister.”
“Everybody is after the separatists over where their children study. I can also dare to ask them. But first I want to know where do your children study? They study in Dalhousie. Where have you studied?” Rashid asked Omar.
He also held Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh indirectly responsible for the killings in the Valley. However after stiff opposition by Congress legislators including Shabir Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Sharief Niaz, the Speaker directed that the comments about PM should be expunged from the Assembly records.
Rashid accused the Government of trying to sideline Hurriyat (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “That is why you allowed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to lead a rally to Lal Chowk on Eid.
Accusing the Government of eroding the credibility of dialogue with separatists, he said, “Senior Hurriyat (M) leader Fazl-ul-Haq Qureshi, who was acting as a mediator, has been rewarded by booking of his brother-in-law Muhammad Rafiq Fazili under PSA.”

Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST