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Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Monday cited rules of procedure and conduct of business in the assembly and Lok Sabha to counter former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's "martial law" remark. He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president wasn't properly advised to comment on the same.
He said that business notices shall not be publicised unless they have been approved and tabled by the Speaker. "When a notice comes in the Assembly Secretariat, it has to go through a lot of processes. Unless I approve and table it, no publicity can be given to it as per our Rules of Procedure. Our assembly rules also say the same," Rather told ANI. The Speaker cited Rule 368 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in J&K legislative assembly and said, "A notice shall not be given publicity by any member or other person until it has been admitted by the Speaker and circulated to members. Provided, a notice of a question shall not be given any publicity until the day on which the question is answered in the House." He went on cite Rule 334-A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and said, "a notice shall not be given publicity by any member or other person until it has been admitted by the Speaker and circulated to members. Provided that a notice of a question shall not be given any publicity until the day on which the question is answered in the House." Speaker Rather said that he expressed his displeasure as per the rules and would be left with no other option in the future than to take strict action against members who publicise the business notices. "Mehbooba has commented on it but I am sorry to say that she hasn't been properly advised. This is the first time this happened, and I have conveyed my displeasure as per the rules. I want to close it here and now, but if repeated, I will have no other option than taking strict action as per the rules," he added. His comments come after Mufti on Sunday said that the role of the Speaker was to safeguard the rights of the members and not to act as a censor. Taking to X, she said that transparency and public awareness of legislative activities should not be seen as an infringement on parliamentary practices. Mufti further said that Rather was imposing a form of "martial law" while being on a constitutional post. "On the contrary, informing the public about notices, questions, and resolutions in advance promotes accountability. Many significant parliamentary bills, such as the recent Waqf Bill, have been debated publicly for months. Regrettably, it appears that Rather Sahab, a seasoned politician, is imposing a form of martial law while occupying a constitutional position," Mufti posted on X. (ANI)
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