Arvind Sharma
Jammu Tawi, Feb 01: The seating arrangement for the upcoming 2nd budget session of the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) beginning tomorrow has been announced by the government with names of all the house members but the seat of the Deputy Speaker has no name.
As per the seating arrangement announced by government for the upcoming budget session, the seat number 25 in the first row is for the Deputy Speaker of the J&K Assembly but there is no mention of the name, while all the seats in the Assembly have names of the House members.
It may be mentioned that the post of Deputy Speaker in the J&K Assembly has been lying vacant since the formation of NC-led government due to differences between the ruling NC and the main opposition party, BJP.
This upcoming budget session is the fifth session of the J&K Assembly but so far no consensus has been reached between the ruling NC and the main opposition party, BJP, about the appointment of the Deputy Speaker.
As per healthy democratic and Parliamentary practice, the post of Deputy Speaker must go the main Opposition party. It means that the BJP, with 29 members, must have the post the Deputy Speaker.
As per the seating arrangement in the J&K Assembly for the upcoming budget session beginning tomorrow, the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Sunil Sharma, the cabinet ministers and some other senior leaders of BJP and NC have been allotted the first row.
The first time MLA, Devyani Rana has been allotted seat number 95 in the Assembly, while the PDP MLA from Budgam, Muntazir Mehandi, has been allotted seat number 92.
Pertinently, the AAP MLA, Mehraj Malik, detained under PSA, has been allotted seat number 91 in the fourth row as the seating arrangement of the J&K Assembly for the upcoming budget session while awaiting the court order on Mehraj Malik’s participation in the Assembly proceedings.
