Political Storm Brews as Mehbooba Mufti Pushes Key Bills Amid BJP’s Strong Opposition in J&K Assembly.
||Black & White Digital News||
||Tejveer Singh February 28,2025 ||
Srinagar/Jammu : As the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly prepares for its crucial budget session starting March 3, a fresh political storm is brewing in the region. Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has written to key political leaders across party lines, urging support for three crucial bills introduced by her party legislators. However, the move has been met with strong resistance from the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma, who has categorically stated that no “anti-national or unconstitutional” bill will be allowed in the House.
Mehbooba Mufti, in her letter addressed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, BJP’s Sunil Sharma, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir, People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, and other independent MLAs, highlighted the “continued hardships” faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir post-2019. She stressed the need for a collective approach beyond party affiliations to address the grievances of the people.
Mufti’s Three Key Bills: A Political Gamble?
The three bills proposed by the PDP include:
1. Jammu and Kashmir (Regularization & Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Land) Bill, 2025 – Aimed at granting property rights to residents occupying public land.
2. Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Special Provisions for Regularization of Adhoc, Daily Wagers, Need-Based and Other Temporary Workers) Act, 2025 – Seeking permanent employment for thousands of temporary government workers.
3. Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition of Alcohol Bill, 2025 – A controversial bill proposing a ban on alcohol sales in the Union Territory.
“These bills seek to address urgent concerns affecting the daily lives of our people and uphold their aspirations,” Mufti stated in her appeal. “Our political paths may differ, but the challenges faced by our people are shared, and so must be our resolve to address them,” she emphasized, urging all parties to support the legislation.
BJP’s Strong Resistance: “Won’t Allow Anti-National Bills”
However, the BJP, which has a significant presence in the Assembly, has strongly opposed Mufti’s move. LoP Sunil Sharma, speaking ahead of an All-Party Meeting at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu, made it clear that his party would not allow any “unconstitutional or anti-national” bill to be tabled.
“Our stand is clear for the upcoming Assembly session. We will not allow any unconstitutional and anti-national bill to be introduced in the budget session,” Sharma told reporters. He also objected to how certain private member bills were made public before being brought to the Speaker’s notice.
BJP leaders Surjit Singh Salathia, National Conference (NC) leaders Ali Mohammad Sagar and Mubarak Gul, CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, Congress MLA Ghulam Ahmed Mir, People’s Conference’s Sajjad Gani Lone, PDP’s Wahidul Rehman Parra, and Independent MLA Muzaffar Khan were present at the meeting.
Assembly Session and Budget Battles:
This session will be the second Assembly meeting since Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized into a Union Territory. The first session was held in Srinagar in November last year, and now the crucial budget session will run in two phases—March 3 to March 25 and April 7 to April 11 in Jammu.
The upcoming session is expected to witness heated debates, not just over the PDP’s proposed bills but also over the financial roadmap of the Union Territory. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the current fiscal year’s J&K budget of ₹1,18,728 crore in Parliament on July 23, 2024. This marks a significant jump from the 2018-19 budget of ₹80,313 crore, presented by then Finance Minister Dr. Haseeb Drabu before the Assembly was dissolved.
Following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government in June 2018 and the subsequent dissolution of the Assembly in November 2018, all J&K budgets from 2019 to 2024 were passed directly in Parliament. Now, with an elected Assembly back in place, local legislators will have a say in the financial planning for the region.
Congress and CPI (M) Call for Coordination:
While the BJP is firm in its opposition to Mehbooba’s bills, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir struck a more diplomatic tone. “All-party meetings strengthen mutual relations, leading to coordination among political parties,” he said, indicating that his party might not completely oppose the proposed bills.
CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami echoed similar sentiments. “People have elected their representatives with hopes that their issues will be raised and addressed in the Assembly,” he stated, indirectly urging a more constructive approach in the session.
A Pitched Battle Ahead:
As the session inches closer, the political battleground in J&K is heating up. Mehbooba Mufti’s outreach may have set the stage for a major showdown between the PDP, BJP, NC, and other stakeholders. Whether her bills will see the light of day or be blocked by the BJP-led opposition remains to be seen. But one thing is certain—this budget session is poised to be a high-voltage political event, shaping the future discourse of Jammu and Kashmir’s governance.
Jammu and Kashmir
Omar Abdullah
Office of LG, J&K
Altaf Bukhari
Sunil Sharma
Satish Sharma
Sat Sharma CA
Deputy CM Surinder choudhary
Dr Narinder Singh
Mehbooba Mufti
Iltija Mufti
