Jammu, May 13: Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma on Wednesday criticised Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather over the allocation of House committee chairmanships, alleging that the Assembly was being turned into the headquarters of the ruling Jammu & Kashmir National Conference.
Reacting to the decision to appoint members of the ruling alliance as heads of eight out of nine Assembly committees, Sharma said the move was unfair and against democratic principles.
“The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly belongs to the people of J&K, not to any single political party.
The BJP will oppose every attempt to turn it into a party office,” Sharma said in a statement.
He alleged that the principle of proportional representation had been ignored while distributing committee chairmanships.
According to Sharma, the ruling alliance, which has 54 MLAs in the Assembly, received leadership of eight committees, while the Bharatiya Janata Party, with 29 MLAs, was allotted only one committee.
Sharma further said that five of the eight committees given to the ruling alliance were headed by MLAs from the National Conference, which has 41 legislators in the House.
He also questioned the appointment of first-time MLAs from the ruling side as committee heads, while experienced opposition legislators were allegedly overlooked.
“The Rules of Procedure empower the Speaker to nominate committee chairpersons, but such powers should be exercised in a fair and balanced manner,” Sharma said.
The BJP leader termed the decision “unjustified” and claimed it was an insult to the mandate given by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.The ruling alliance has not yet responded to the allegations.