J&K Assembly Adjourned amid Ruckus over Waqf Bill

 Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, currently in its budget session in Jammu, was on Monday adjourned for the day amid ruckus over the Speaker’s disallowing a discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 passed by the Parliament last week.

As soon as the House assembled after a 12-day-long break owing to Eid-ul-Fitr and Navratri festivities, several ruling National Conference (NC) members were on their feet to demand a discussion on the controversial bill. Their demand was endorsed by opposition members except those of the BJP. Earlier, a notice for the adjournment motion on the issue had been given to the Speaker by nine members from across the NC, Congress, and Independents.

However, Speaker Abdur Rahim Rather ruled out such a discussion, pleading the Bill has been challenged in the highest court of the country and, therefore, the matter was sub-judice. Citing sub-rule (7) of Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House, the Speaker announced that he had disallowed adjournment.

“There should be discussion on the Waqf Bill in the Assembly of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu & Kashmir. If the GST law brought by the Centre was discussed in the J & K Assembly, why Waqf Bill can’t be discussed,” asked NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq.

Several other members also protested over the Speaker’s remark that the matter was sub-judice; hence cannot be discussed in the House. “The Supreme Court has not admitted the petitions moved before it against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill or issued any notices yet. How is the matter sub-judice then?” yelled one of the protesting members.

As the House witnessed uproar and repeated disruptions, the Speaker adjourned it twice. The protesting NC members were joined by those of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress and some independents in chanting “Waqf Bill na manzoor, na manzoor (Waqf Bill is unacceptable). The protesting MLAs tried to enter the Well of the House but were prevented by the Marshals from doing it. One of the NC members, Salman Sagar climbed a table to chant “Nara-e Takbeer Allahu Akbar (A cry of God is the greatest).” He and another NC member Aijaz Jan tore up the question papers and threw them in the air.

Another NC member Nazir Ahmed Khan Gurezi turning to the Chair said, “Sir, this is a religious issue, and we are prepared to sacrifice anything for our faith. If you do not allow us to discuss it, we will not allow the House to function.”

As the Leader of the Opposition BJP’s Sunil Sharma, mounted a vociferous opposition to the motion, some NC and Congress members started chanting slogans against his party – BJP hai hai, Bill wapus karo- triggering an uproar. PDP’s Waheed Ur Rehman Parra pointed out the religious significance of the matter. He said, “It is a crucial religious matter. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a resolution on it. This House should act accordingly.”

During the ruckus, NC member Majid Larmi’s black waist coat was torn by his party colleague Sajad Shaheen and then they and other members held up pieces of the torn achkan as symbols of protest against the Bill.

After the House reassembled a third time, the Speaker adjourned it for the day amid persisting pandemonium. Unhappy with his decision, the NC, Congress, CPIM and independent members continued with their protest outside the Assembly Hall. Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami the CPIM’s key face in J&K, while speaking on the occasion regretted the Speaker’s “illogical” ruling and said that he should have allowed the discussion on the Waqf Bill “which is not only against the interests of the Indian Muslims but also unconstitutional and against the secular fabric of the country.”

However, BJP leader Sunil Sharma accused the NC of inciting religious sentiments on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. “It has been passed in both houses of the Parliament and is now sub-judice, therefore, discussing it in an Assembly is unconstitutional,” he told reporters.

Mr. Sharma said that the NC MPs remained silent on the issue and now the party is trying to incite religious sentiments by demanding a discussion on the Bill in the Assembly. “I think they raised the issue in the Assembly only to get attention,” he said.

Reacting to the Speaker’s ruling, Kashmir chief Muslim cleric and chairman of separatist Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, “It is ridiculous and condemnable that Tamil Nadu which only has 6 percent Muslim population, passes a strong anti Wakf resolution in its Assembly while the Muslim majority J&K Assembly Speaker is struggling and refusing , by hiding behind technicalities to discuss this deeply concerning issue for the Muslims of the state.”

He added, “The Speaker would know that the strong peoples mandate given to his party was precisely for the reason that the party had promised to safeguard the interests of the people being trampled upon since August 2019 and take a stand for them in critical matters. Why is he capitulating so meekly?”

Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in a post on ‘X’ said, “It’s profoundly disappointing that the speaker of the J & K Assembly has rejected the motion on the Waqf Bill. Despite securing a strong mandate, the government appears to have completely yielded to the BJP’s anti-Muslim agenda, cynically attempting to appease both sides.” She added, “The NC could learn from Tamil Nadu’s government, which has firmly opposed the Waqf Bill. In J&K, the only Muslim-majority region, it’s alarming that a supposedly people-centric government lacks the courage even to debate this critical issue.”