National Conference, Congress MLAs stage walkout from Jammu & Kashmir Assembly over power supply issue

Jammu: The Opposition National Conference and Congress members on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in protest against worsening power scenario in the state, and cornered deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh for his failure to reply to their queries. The deputy chief minister was replying to a question of Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen on providing uninterrupted power supply to consumers during the Question Hour when the members of the Opposition National Conference-Congress stood up and raised the issue of worsening power scenario in the state. [caption id=“attachment_2804198” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Getty Images[/caption] The Opposition members sought a reply from the deputy chief minister and protested against the government for its failure to ensure uninterrupted power supply. Several NC and Congress members walked into the well of the House and some of them tore question papers and threw these at the well, seeking time to pose supplementary questions to the deputy chief minister, who also holds the charge of the power ministry. Around a dozen legislators asked supplementary questions to the deputy chief minister. Speaker Kavinder Gupta tried to intervene by asking members that only three supplementary questions can be asked for a single question. Minister Rehman Veeri also intervened and asked the members to allow the deputy chief minister to reply to their supplementary questions. The deputy chief minister said that the scarcity of power was a result of 70 years of bad planning. He held the previous governments responsible and added that the present dispensation was trying to fix the problem. His remarks drew angry retort from NC legislators including Devender Rana and Congress MLAs Nawang Rigzin Jora and GM Saroori. “The deputy chief minister is heading the department for the past three years but has done nothing on the ground,” Saroori said. “There will be better power supply in 2018,” the deputy chief minister responded. Later, NC and Congress members Majid Larmi, Waqer Rasool, Ishfaq Jabbar and Altaf Kallo staged a walkout from the House after they were not allowed by the Speaker to pose supplementary questions.