JAMMU, Mar 5: Pandemonium rocked the Legislative Assembly after Leader of the Opposition (LOP) and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma passed derogatory remarks against the July 13, 1931 martyrs.
During the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the Lieutenant Governor’s address, Peoples Democratic Party leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra demanded the restoration of the July 13 Martyrs Day holiday.
As Parra concluded his speech, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma stood up and objected to his demand. “They were not martyrs but traitors,” Sharma said, evoking widespread protests from the Treasury benches as well as from Kashmir-based opposition parties. The leaders demanded that the remarks be expunged from the records of the House.
“These remarks were humiliating and divisive and should be withdrawn or expunged from the records,” demanded MLA Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat.
Amid continuous slogan-shouting between the Treasury Benches and the BJP, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced that the remarks had been expunged from the records of the House.
BJP MLAs walked out of the Assembly here after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced expunging of “derogatory remarks” of the leader of opposition about the July 13, 1931 “martyrs” amid pandemonium in the House.
BJP leader and LoP Sunil Sharma made the remarks on the 1931 “martyrs” after PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Para demanded the restoration of the public holiday on July 13 besides the December 5 holiday to mark the birth anniversary of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
Both the holidays were scrapped by the J&K administration following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union territories in August 2019.
Taking part in a debate on the motion of thanks to LG’s address at a time when NC president Farooq Abdullah reached the visitors’ gallery to watch the proceedings, Para sought restoration of the two holidays and highlighted the importance of the July 13, 1931 when 22 men fell to the bullets of Dogra Maharaja’s soldiers outside Srinagar central jail and the contribution of the NC founder.
“They have sacrificed their lives against autocracy and for democracy, and the House, irrespective of party affiliation and ideology, should come together to restore the July 13 holiday and also Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s holiday, given his political stature and the contribution,” Para said.
He also criticized the BJP for turning J&K into a “glorified municipality” and said the speech of the LG is talking more of “BJP’s agenda” rather than reflecting the people’s aspirations and sentiments and the election promises of NC.
BJP’s Sharma reacted angrily to Para’s statement and opposed the restoration of the holiday on July 13.
“This is their wrong notion that the peace in Kashmir is hollow. Terrorism is taking its last breath, while separatism and Jamaat are buried. The foot is not on the spring but on a smooth surface, and Indian security forces have promised to restore peace in J&K,” Sharma told reporters outside the assembly.
He said the BJP did not consider those killed in the 1931 uprising against Maharaja as “martyrs”.
“The Maharaja was a justice-loving king, and anyone who rose in rebellion is a traitor, and we are proud of him. Why are they not shedding tears for those killed during their rule in 2010 and 2016?”
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Chaudhary lashed out at the BJP over its controversial remarks on the July 13 martyrs, criticizing its leaders for what he called an “inappropriate and disrespectful” choice of words.
“Those who sacrificed their lives for democracy, the Constitution, and the rights of the people deserve respect, irrespective of their background. Insulting them for political gains is unacceptable,” Chaudhary said, aiming at the opposition.
Amid ongoing Assembly debates over Jammu and Kashmir’s history, Chaudhary did not hold back in exposing the BJP’s contradictions. “If BJP leaders claim to revere Maharaja Hari Singh, why did they scrap Article 370 and 35(A), which were implemented during his rule? Why did they strip Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood and divide it into Union Territories? Their actions contradict their rhetoric,” he remarked.
Chaudhary accused the BJP of selectively using history for its political agenda while ignoring facts that do not suit its narrative.