Srinagar: The Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir is a thing of history after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union Government read down the Article 370 and downgraded the erstwhile state to a Union Territory in 2019 through unilateral constitutional and legal changes.
However, the removal of reference to it from the rule book of the J&K Assembly has stoked a controversy, with other Kashmir-based opposition parties accusing the ruling National Conference (NC)-led government of endorsing August 5, 2019 changes.
The controversy shows the emotional resonance of issues related to Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, which was bulldozed by the Union Government more than five years ago.
How controversy erupted
On December 24, 2024, the Speaker of J&K Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, who belongs to the ruling National Conference, set-up a committee of legislators from the ruling NC-led alliance and BJP, which is the main opposition party in the House, to sync rules of the House essentially with the new legal architecture built by the Union Government in 2019 for J&K.
After discussions, the panel decided to make modifications in the existing rules, instead of framing new rules, which is permissible under the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.
As part of the exercise to make modifications in the rule book, the Legislative Assembly Secretariat put a proposal before the committee.
As per the draft proposal, the references to the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution, the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council and other defunct institutions were to be deleted due to change in the erstwhile state’s constitutional and legal position.
The Kashmir-based opposition parties saw this as an opportunity to attack the NC, whose politics is centered around J&K’s identity and autonomy.
Citing the modifications, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Conference launched an all-out attack on the NC.
In a post on X, Peoples Conference president and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone said “the House will now be remembered as the endorser not the rejector of August 5 2019”
“Endorsement of the draft proposal prepared by the Assembly secretariat regarding Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House will be the most explicit and unforgivable ratification of August 5, 2019 changes. It will effectively end once and for all any scope for legal challenges to 5 August changes, in the future. While we dreamt of an unambiguous resolution by the new assembly rejecting 5 August 2019, and that becoming a reference point in any future legal challenge – now we have a shocker,” Lone wrote in his long post, on February 4, 2025.
Endorsement of draft proposal prepared by Assembly secretrait regarding Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House will be the most explicit and unforgivable ratification of August 5, 2019 changes.
AdvertisementIt will effectively end once and for all any scope for legal…
— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) February 4, 2025
‘A clear acknowledgement of new status quo’
Lone even questioned the exclusion of Kashmir-based opposition parties from the panel.
“The ruling NC-led government purposely constituted a Committee which had 7 ruling alliance members and 2 BJP members. There was no one from the Kashmir-based opposition parties or MLAs. The committee endorses all changes made on 5 August 2019,” he said.
PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra said the modified rules mark a clear acknowledgment of the status quo.
“The modified J&K Assembly business rules mark a shift from Article 370, effectively endorsing the constitutional changes of August 5, 2019. A clear acknowledgement of new status quo,” Parra posted on X.
The comm posted on X ittee met on Tuesday (February 11) to finalise its suggestions and gave a go-ahead to the Speaker to carry out, what they termed, as “bare minimum modifications.”
The committee members told The Wire that they have built consensus over replacing the terms like State, Governer and both Houses of the legislature respectively with Union Territory, LG and Legislative Assembly.
“We have not made any suggestion to delete the J & K Constitution from the rule book,” Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, NC MLA from Rajouri, a member of the panel, told The Wire.
With the committee finalising its suggestions/ recommendations, all eyes would now be on the Speaker who is empowered to make modifications.
The Kashmir-based political parties are now demanding that change in the rules should be made public.
“Since J&K Assembly rule changes have been approved and the Speaker will be implementing the modifications, it is crucial that each and every change in business rules be made public. Given the lasting impact of these rules on J&K, people deserve to know exactly what has been done and implemented,” PDP’s Para said in his latest post on X on Wednesday (February 12).
Since J&K Assembly rule changes have been approved and the Speaker will be implementing the modifications, it is crucial that each and every change in business rules be made public. Given the lasting impact of these rules on J&K, people deserve to know exactly what has been done…
— Waheed Para (@parawahid) February 12, 2025
While NC is treading cautiously over the move, the BJP accused Kashmir-based opposition parties of playing politics over the issue.
“They just want to befool the people of J&K on emotive issues, which they have been doing all along. The Jammu & Kashmir constitution doesn’t exist anymore and there is a requirement of removing references to it from the rule book,” BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi told The Wire.
