Neha
JAMMU, Feb 28: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saifullah Mir on Thursday allowed a private member's bill of CPM MLA from Kulgam, Kashmir, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, that sought reduction in the life of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from six to five years. Jammu and Kashmir is the solitary state in the country where the life of the Assembly is six years. The life of the Lok sabha and state assemblies in the country is five years.
It needs to be noted that it was Sheikh Abdullah Government that enhanced the tenure of the assembly by one year after the government of Indira Gandhi amended the constitution after declaring emergency in 1975 to save her chair and increased the life of the Lok Sabha and assemblies by one year. The Morarji Desai government, which replaced the government of Indira Gandhi in 1977, repealed the amendment adopted by the Congress government to reduce the life of the lok Sabha and assemblies to five years. But the ruling elite in the state did not adopt that amendment and the result was that the life of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly remained six years. In 2007, a Jammu-based lawmaker had moved a private member's bill in the assembly seeking the reduction of the life of the assembly from six to five years, but all the political parties, barring the JKNPP, the BJP and the JSM, rejected the Bill. Between 2007 and 2013, many attempts were made by some Jammu-based lawmakers to get the life of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly at par with other state assemblies, but with no result. The private member's Bill on the life of the assembly, which was allowed by Saifullah, on February 26, says that since the life of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies across the country is five years, the life of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly should also be the same. Now that the government has allowed a private member's bill to this effect, it is time for all the lawmakers to work in unison and adopt this important bill. Such a positive approach on their part would surely bring Jammu and Kashmir a step closer to New Delhi. But the question is: Will the NC and the Congress help the assembly adopt this bill? It is difficult question to answer considering the past experience. |
