Srinagar, Oct 8: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today witnessed unruly scenes as three youth suddenly jumped into the members' area of the House, demanding implementation of employment policy.
The three youth—Manish Khajuria, Sunny Malhotra and Ambedkar Gupta—were overpowered by assembly marshals and placed under arrest on the orders of Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone.
The youth, who had got passes on the request of expelled BJP member Jagdish Raj Sapolia to witness the proceedings from the public gallery, unfurled the flag of a newly-floated party J-K Democratic Front. They also raised slogans demanding implementation of employment policy in the state. The Speaker immediately ordered investigation into how the youth got into the assembly.
Proceedings of the House were disrupted for a short while due to the incident.
At the end of the question hour, the Speaker directed initiation of proceedings against the “offenders” and Sapolia, who he identified as “their abettor”. Lone termed the incident as contempt of the House.
Sapolia and six other BJP MLAs were expelled from the party on charges of cross-voting during the legislative council polls in the state last year in March. The BJP had asked the Speaker to disqualify these members but they continue to attend the house as they have filed a writ petition in the state High Court.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the youths came with legitimate passes issued by an MLA, who was present in the House when the “drama took place”.
“So, it is important that while we condemn this disruption, we don't certainly need to blow it out of proportion,” Omar said.
“The law will follow its own course and as ordered by the Speaker, the Assembly secretariat will do what it has to do,” he said.
The chief minister said he was not sure which employment policies the detained youths were talking about.
