Jammu, Apr 9: In a strong display of dissent, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators staged a protest outside the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Wednesday after their adjournment motion seeking a discussion on the regularisation of daily wagers and rising unemployment was dismissed by the Speaker. The protest marked the third consecutive day of intense friction within the House, where treasury bench members, including Congress and Independent MLAs, continued to disrupt proceedings.
The protest was led by BJP senior leader Sham Lal Sharma and MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia, who had formally submitted the motion seeking an urgent debate on two pressing public issues — the regularisation of thousands of daily-rated workers and the lack of concrete employment policies for the youth in the region. The Speaker of the Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, rejected the motion on technical grounds, citing that it did not qualify as a fresh matter. This triggered an uproar from the BJP benches, with members storming into the well of the House, raising slogans such as “discuss daily wagers’ regularisation and unemployment”.
Amid continued sloganeering, the Speaker adjourned the House for three hours. In response, all BJP MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma, moved their protest outside the Assembly premises and staged a dharna at the entrance. Chants like “Dramabazi bandh karo, daily wagers par discussion karo” echoed at the protest site, drawing attention to the opposition’s growing frustration with the government’s alleged evasion of accountability.
Speaking to reporters, LoP Sharma said, “Our colleague Balwant Singh Mankotia had submitted a legitimate motion to facilitate discussion on the two most burning issues in Jammu and Kashmir — the fate of daily wagers and rising unemployment. The rejection of this motion reveals the government’s intention to avoid any debate that demands action or transparency.”
He accused the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC)-Congress government of deliberately stalling legislative functions to escape public scrutiny. “This is the third day in a row that the House has been disrupted. The ruling coalition has turned the Assembly into a battleground to suppress the voice of the people,” Sharma added.
Sharma lambasted the state government for failing to keep its promises. “The NC government had promised regularisation of daily wagers. What happened to that commitment? Not a single step has been taken towards fulfilling it. Instead, the government is busy in photo ops and appeasement politics,” he said.
Highlighting the depth of youth discontent, Sharma added, “The Chief Minister had promised 5 lakh jobs. That would mean creating 50,000 jobs every six months — but the ground reality shows zero delivery. No budgetary provisions have been made. No plan has been announced. This government has betrayed the trust of the unemployed youth.”
The BJP leader also alleged favoritism in government appointments, claiming, “While daily wagers and educated youth await justice, relatives of influential NC leaders are being appointed through the backdoor, like the recent appointment of a relative in the Tourism Department.”
Sharpening his criticism, Sharma accused the NC of shielding land encroachers under the pretext of the Waqf law and trying to alter the demography of Jammu by enabling mass encroachments under political patronage. “This is not just about employment or daily wagers. It’s about the larger plan to marginalize the rightful citizens of this region,” he warned.
Despite the chaos, Sharma appreciated the Speaker for upholding legislative norms regarding other matters such as the Waqf Bill but questioned the selectiveness of decisions on public-centric issues. “The Budget Session is a critical opportunity to raise public concerns, but the ruling coalition is hijacking it for its narrow interests,” he said.