Jammu, May 14 : The dispute over the allocation of chairmanships in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s House Committees has intensified, with Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma stating on Thursday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will soon hold a meeting to decide whether to boycott the committees.
Speaking to news agency, Sharma alleged that the distribution of committee chairmanships was unfair and heavily skewed in favour of the National Conference and its allies. He said the party would decide on its participation in the committee proceedings accordingly.
He further alleged that the Assembly was being turned into the “headquarters” of the National Conference and claimed that the opposition’s voice was being suppressed to prevent it from highlighting what he termed the failures of the government.
Sharma also accused the Speaker of acting with bias and violating the principle of proportional representation, alleging that democratic norms were being undermined in the process.
He said the limited representation given to the opposition in committee chairmanships was an “insult to the mandate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Questioning the allocation, Sharma said that while the ruling alliance with 54 MLAs had been given eight chairmanships, the BJP, with 29 MLAs, was allotted only one. He added that those defending the decision should understand the principle of proportional representation instead of “twisting facts” to suit their narrative.
