The Jammu Kashmir Assembly on Tuesday witnessed heated exchanges and a walkout by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators after PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra demanded the restoration of public holidays on July 13, July 31, and December 5, alongside the transfer of Kashmiri detainees from jails outside the Union Territory back to local prisons.
Speaking during the session, Parra urged the government to reinstate the holidays—July 13, observed in memory of the 1931 martyrs; July 31; and December 5, the birth anniversary of National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
“These holidays are part of our collective history and identity. They must be restored. Additionally, Kashmiri youth lodged in jails outside JK should be shifted back so their families are not made to suffer,” Parra said, citing his own experience facing two UAPA cases to highlight the hardships faced by detainees and their families.
Parra’s demand gained support from CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami, Congress leader Nizamuddin Bhat, and People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone, who called on NC legislators to back the move.
However, tensions flared when Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma made controversial remarks dismissing the legacy of the 1931 martyrs while responding to Parra’s speech.
His comments drew strong objections from opposition members, who demanded the remarks be expunged and an apology issued. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather ordered the removal of Sharma’s remarks from the official records.
In protest, all 28 BJP legislators staged a walkout from the House.
Historically, July 13 commemorates the killing of 22 people by the Dogra Maharaja’s forces outside Srinagar Central Jail in 1931, while December 5 marked Sheikh Abdullah’s birth anniversary.
Both holidays, along with others, were scrapped by the J-K administration following the abrogation of Article 370 and the region’s reorganization into two Union Territories in 2019.
Author Profile
Latest entries
