Srinagar, Nov 06: Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather Wednesday took serious note over the omission of former Kulgam MLA Mohammad Yaqoob Bhat’s name from the obituary references tabled on November 5.
During the 3rd day’s proceedings, the Speaker paid tributes to Bhat but criticized the error, stating that all Deputy Commissioners, including Kulgam, were instructed to provide details of deceased MLAs or MLCs.
“Unfortunately, DC Kulgam informed us that no MLA from the district had passed away during this period,” Rather said.
He said the seriousness of the oversight, accusing DC Kulgam of misleading the Assembly. “This is a serious matter, and we will investigate it. Such an omission is highly condemnable.”
Speaker Rather acknowledged Bhat’s contributions, noting that on Tuesday, the Assembly honored 57 deceased leaders.
He recalled that Bhat, born in 1932 in Kulgam, passed away on January 10, 2022, and served as Kulgam MLA from 1962-1967 and 1967-1972.
Bhat, who held a Master’s degree in Economics from Aligarh Muslim University, was recognized for his work in promoting peace and progress. The Assembly observed a minute of silence in his honor.
On Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir union territory assembly paid obituaries to 57 deceased legislators including the late separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
The speaker of the assembly Abdul Rahim Rather asked the assembly to maintain two minutes of silence and hold prayers for these legislators.
Rather mentioned that it is not possible to pay individual obituaries to all these leaders but the assembly should remember their services and pray for their eternal peace.
Among the legislators and parliamentarians were former president of India Pranab Mukherjee, former BJP veteran and prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and communist leader and former speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chaterjee.
