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| Was LC chairman's election valid? | | |
ET REPORTER
Jammu, July 21: Was the election to the post of the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly constitutionally valid? This question has raised the eyes of legal and constitutional experts just a day after the PDP's Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjoora was elected as Chairman.
While Prof Bhim Singh of the Panthers Party is planning to approach court to get a direction, the Opposition National Conference is planning to plead before the Governor SK Sinha to declare the election as invalid.
The contention among a section of legal and constitutional experts is that a proper notification for the election was not issued. "For such highest constitutional posts like that of the Chairman of the Legislative Council a notification for the elections is always issued under the rules but here in this case it was like a family show of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Congress", said a legal expert.
The National Conference nominee for the post Sakina Ittoo says "we served a motion to the Chair to conduct the election through secret ballot instead of voice vote and also demanded discussion on spurt in Human Rights Violations in the state and also on the brute force used against the protesting unemployed Technocrats, Engineers, Teachers and Anganwari workers, but the acting Chairman in dictatorial manner did not allow us to discuss these vital issues of urgent public importance".
She said fearing that some members of coalition may vote against the PDP candidate, the acting Chairman opted for a voice vote that too when National Conference Legislative members were dragged out of the House and doors bolted from inside.
Quoting the rule of procedure of conducting the business in the House the NC leaders said that acting Chairman made a mockery of democracy and thwarted the voice of the members. He said that the members were deprived of the rights in the most undemocratic manner.
Taking a strong exception of the official version in which it was said that National Conference Legislators were given three minutes to return to the House before the election, the party leaders said that it is blatant lie when the fact of the matter is that the National Conference members were forced to leave the House by the Watch and Ward staff and the House was bolted thereby restricting the entry of the National Conference members into the House.
On being asked by media-men that whether the National Conference's walkout from the House was a face saver for the party, Sakina Ittoo retorted that they had not walked out but were evicted forcibly despite the resistance by the members who later sat on Dharna raising slogan at the entry gate of the House.
On being asked what will be the further course of action in case if the Governor does not respond favorably, Sakina said that Governor is the custodian of the constitution of the State and we are confident that he will not disappoint us. However, she asserted that the legal recourse was always available to the party.
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