Jammu, Oct 10: The upcoming session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, scheduled to begin in Srinagar on October 23, is expected to witness a packed agenda, with legislators submitting a significant number of questions, private members’ bills, and resolutions for discussion. According to official sources, the Assembly Secretariat has received nearly 450 questions, 13 private members’ bills, and 55 private members’ resolutions for the brief nine-day session, which will include six sittings.
In addition to the fresh submissions, 33 private members’ bills that remained pending from the previous budget session held in Jammu between March 3 and April 9 will also be taken up this time, bringing the total to 46 bills awaiting consideration. The previous session had seen two days set aside for private members’ business, but those sittings were completely washed out due to strong protests led by the NC-Congress alliance and other legislators over the passage of the Waqf Bill in Parliament. As a result, the Speaker had adjourned the session sine die on April 9, announcing that all pending bills would be carried forward, though the resolutions had lapsed.
Officials noted that while around 450 questions have been submitted by the MLAs, the exact number to be listed for discussion will be finalized after the scrutiny process, as not all questions meet the admissibility criteria. These questions span a wide range of public concerns, including budgetary expenditure, industrial investment, regularization of daily wagers, Panchayat elections, land encroachments, flood damages, employment generation, and the continuation of the Darbar Move tradition.
Several of the submitted resolutions once again call for the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, an issue expected to dominate the forthcoming discussions. There are also reports that the Omar Abdullah-led NC Government may introduce a similar resolution on its own initiative.
According to the Assembly Secretariat’s notification, legislators were entitled to submit up to 10 questions each,five starred and five unstarred along with one private member’s bill (by October 4) and two private members’ resolutions (by October 7). Despite this allowance, only a small number of MLAs have utilized the opportunity, resulting in the relatively limited count of bills and resolutions received.
Out of the 90-member House, two seats are currently vacant, while six MLAs including the Chief Minister hold ministerial positions. The lone Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, remains under detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Consequently, out of the remaining 80 legislators, only 13 have submitted private members’ bills and 55 have proposed resolutions.
The nine-day Assembly session will include one day each for private members’ bills and resolutions, while three days have been reserved for government business. Sources indicate that the Government is also in the process of finalizing a set of bills to be introduced during the session. During the previous budget session, the Government had only presented a single bill, an amendment to the GST Act which was subsequently passed by the House. However, with the Government set to complete its first year in office next week, more substantial legislative business is expected this time.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition with 28 MLAs, is preparing to challenge the Government on several key issues, including governance, law and order, and development priorities. The party is expected to finalize its agenda during a Legislature Party meeting ahead of the session.
This will mark the fourth session of the Union Territory’s Legislative Assembly since its constitution. The first session was held in Srinagar from November 4–8 last year, followed by the budget session in Jammu from March 3–April 9. A one-day special session was also convened on April 28 in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, including 25 tourists.
Among the major issues likely to dominate the upcoming session are the restoration of Statehood, detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, damage caused by recent floods, land rights, and employment generation. The short but crucial session is expected to set the tone for the Government’s legislative and political direction as it approaches its first anniversary in office.