Former Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today defended his party’s decision to boycott the Budget session and charged the Omar Abdullah-led regime with undermining the sanctity of the Assembly.
As the ruling National Conference (NC) has been “taunting” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with skirting its responsibility as the main opposition, Mufti said, “Instead of listening to dissenting voices, the arrogant ruling coalition with a dictatorial mindset has never allowed any debate on important issue.”
On March 13, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had announced to boycott the remaining proceedings of the Budget session, which will be over on April 4, to protest against the state government for not allowing the Opposition to raise important issues.
Although the coalition partners in the government had appealed to the PDP to reconsider its decision, ruling NC members in the Assembly were trying to give an impression that the PDP was shying away from debate on public issues by boycotting the proceedings.
While addressing a one-day convention of party workers here today, Mufti launched a counter-offensive against the coalition regime on the issue. He alleged that the government had systematically eroded all democratic institutions in the state and had not even spared the Assembly. “The National Conference-Congress regime has systematically disempowered the Assembly by gagging dissent voices,” he said and added that even former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was not allowed to speak in the Budget session.
He said the NC-Congress coalition government was running away from debate and discussion in the Assembly and it was evident from the fact that since the formation of this regime not a single serious debate on any important issue was allowed by the government in the Assembly.
“It is unfortunate that to accomplish its nefarious designs, the ruling coalition has degraded the institution of Assembly to such a low level,” he said and added PDP legislators were not allowed to raise day to day issues of people.
Mufti said the House had been prevented from undertaking any meaningful discussion that could have helped in finding a way to respond to peoples’ concerns so there was no reason to attend the proceedings. “We did not want to be part of a process of demolition of democratic institutions, in the revival of which we had contributed substantially in the past years.
People would get disillusioned with the highest democratic forum by witnessing the undesirable sight of the government pleading helplessness before its own forces and the Opposition not being allowed to raise issues and jointly finding solutions to them,” he said
As the ruling National Conference (NC) has been “taunting” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with skirting its responsibility as the main opposition, Mufti said, “Instead of listening to dissenting voices, the arrogant ruling coalition with a dictatorial mindset has never allowed any debate on important issue.”
On March 13, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had announced to boycott the remaining proceedings of the Budget session, which will be over on April 4, to protest against the state government for not allowing the Opposition to raise important issues.
Although the coalition partners in the government had appealed to the PDP to reconsider its decision, ruling NC members in the Assembly were trying to give an impression that the PDP was shying away from debate on public issues by boycotting the proceedings.
While addressing a one-day convention of party workers here today, Mufti launched a counter-offensive against the coalition regime on the issue. He alleged that the government had systematically eroded all democratic institutions in the state and had not even spared the Assembly. “The National Conference-Congress regime has systematically disempowered the Assembly by gagging dissent voices,” he said and added that even former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was not allowed to speak in the Budget session.
He said the NC-Congress coalition government was running away from debate and discussion in the Assembly and it was evident from the fact that since the formation of this regime not a single serious debate on any important issue was allowed by the government in the Assembly.
“It is unfortunate that to accomplish its nefarious designs, the ruling coalition has degraded the institution of Assembly to such a low level,” he said and added PDP legislators were not allowed to raise day to day issues of people.
Mufti said the House had been prevented from undertaking any meaningful discussion that could have helped in finding a way to respond to peoples’ concerns so there was no reason to attend the proceedings. “We did not want to be part of a process of demolition of democratic institutions, in the revival of which we had contributed substantially in the past years.
People would get disillusioned with the highest democratic forum by witnessing the undesirable sight of the government pleading helplessness before its own forces and the Opposition not being allowed to raise issues and jointly finding solutions to them,” he said
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