Opposition members disrupt Haseeb Drabu's budget speech, stage walkout at J&K assembly

Pandemonium rocked the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday as opposition members disrupted state finance minister Haseeb Drabu’s budget speech. Independent MLA Engineer Rashid advanced to the speaker’s podium, disrupting the finance minister’s speech.  He demanded a discussion on the deaths of two women who died in 2008 under mysterious circumstances in Shopian district. The MLA refused to heed repeated directions from the speaker to resume his seat and let the finance minister make his speech; he was then removed from the house by the security staff on the orders of the speaker. Soon thereafter, the National Conference (NC) MLAs, led by former chief minister Omar Abdullah, walked out of the house. After order was restored in the house, Haseeb Drabu resumed reading out his budgetary proposals. Since Jammu and Kashmir was under the governor’s rule from 7 January to 4 April because of the death of the then chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, it did not have a normal budget. Governor N.N. Vohra had passed a vote on account in the state administrative council during that period to avert a financial crisis in the state.