Expected to be stormy, the 21-day budget session in Jammu evoked old legislative memories, but lawmakers felt constrained in voicing the street-level issues and emotions they encounter, writes Masood Hussain
Confused, a young man who won the last assembly election defeating a veteran in Kashmir politics said he cannot understand how politics is being transacted. “To me, it was simple, if somebody supports me in what I believe in or stand for, I will see him as an ally,” he told a group of reporters in the central hall of the Jammu Kashmir legislative assembly after finishing his day of debates and interventions. “But it is something very different. People who are not with my party but are championing what my party stands for but still they are on the other side.”
The young man from the ruling party was referring to a series of issues that had an interesting initiation in the house and the quick disposal, apparently at the hands of the ruling party. “There was one resolution that came from our rival party on Martyrs Day holiday, and another independent member moved a motion to discuss Article 370,” he said. “Even our party colleagues initiated a discussion on the changes that the BJP-dominated Lok Sabha resorted to but the Speaker did not allow.”
Sajad Lone, the Peoples Conference president and Handwara lawmaker, had moved the motion to discuss the abrogation of Article 370, and the assembly disallowed it. “We may not be able to make laws, get detainees back, or restore Article 370, but no one can stop us from expressing our opinion,” Lone later told reporters. “By disallowing the resolution on political prisoners, they are restricting free expression, which is very dangerous.”
Shabir Kullay, the erstwhile JKNC member, who later contested independently and won from Shopian, had submitted a resolution to discuss the restoration of the statehood. His resolution read: “This House stands united in its demand for the full restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and urges the Government of India to take immediate steps to fulfil this long-standing promise.” However, he was not allowed to speak on the issue. “I regret that the House did not permit me to discuss a resolution seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir,” Kullay said. “This was something very innocuous, given the fact that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have, on the floor of the House, assured that it will be done. What was the harm in talking about it?”
Similarly, PDP’s Waheed Parra moved a resolution seeking a public holiday on Martyrs Day and Sheikh Abdullah’s birthday, the two days which were withdrawn as holidays by the LG Manoj Sinha administration. Interestingly, restoring the two holidays on Kashmir’s historic and landmark days was not allowed by the Speaker, triggering a terse reaction from the young lawmaker who was shuttling between courtrooms and jails in the last five years.
In a 90-seat House, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has 51 newcomers. Though the assembly secretariat imparted training in legislative business, conduct during the proceedings and the ways and means they can resort to for bringing an issue to the table of the house, the younger lot shall remain confused for some time about how politics is being transacted on the ground. After all, they were elected to the House at a time when its status was skirted in the aftermath of the reorganisation of the Jammu and Kashmir State in 2019.
Elder Concerns
In Jammu and Kashmir’s legislative history, elders in the House admit that 2024 marked a Himalayan transition. “It was a new assembly and there were too many newer faces, some of whom had watched the proceedings of the House from the TV screens,” one senior member said, highlighting the entry of too many debutants. “The outcome, however, was not very impressive as the status of the House was skirted in the last few years after the state was reduced to a Union Territory. They were trained in legislative business but they all say they felt choked.” Some of them had picked their own idealism in politics before entering the house, a belief that they may have to permit some sort of dilution in the coming days.
In anticipation of the 21-day budget session, the hype around the assembly consumed most of the legislative adjectives as it was expected to be stormy. Barring a series of adjournments, mostly towards the conclusion of the session and especially because of the fodder that the BJP-dominated Lok Sabha offered with the passage of the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, the House by and large followed the script. Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather, ensured that the assembly secretariat does not entertain any question that does not fall within the “domain” of the House and the recently-adopted business rules were followed in letter and spirit. There were even allegations that some of the issues that were raised by some lawmakers were delisted from the business.
As the session concluded, the lawmakers – the seniors, veterans and the debutants, all are going back to their constituencies with the belief that the assembly election has landed them in a situation in which they had no option but to own up what has been happening in the erstwhile state in the last many years. “To our questions, responses came. We raised issues on policies and our ministers defended the policies in vogue, which we are so keen to change,” one lawmaker, speaking anonymously, said. “I remember, perhaps the Chief Minister, in one case, said something in a formal written response to a question or a cut motion and a completely different response in his speech.”
“You can talk out your frustrations, get some details also, find out the achievements, raise questions, and even criticise,” ruling party lawmaker, Javid Baig, who was the ruling party’s ‘opener’ in both the sessions in Srinagar and Jammu. At both occasions, he spoke at length about the history and evolution of the erstwhile state before it was reduced to a UT. “But how much will it yield into an action? Everybody is just trying to understand that this is the first session. So, very little expectation.”
The Ice Breaker
Lawmakers and the political parties agree on one thing: that the assembly elections and the constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly should be taken as a fresh start. “Literally, if you see, the 2024 elections took place after a decade. Though for most of the first half there was a civilian government, the latter half was seriously problematic as all the bad things happened to us,” another ruling party member said, insisting on anonymity. “To be very honest, society as a whole has started forgetting about how politics is being transacted. Some of us, who have spent most of our lives in politics, have started accepting the aberrations as the new normality. This assembly is now undoing that.” Admitting that the expectations were too huge and the outcome seemingly is too little, he said the system requires a rest and rebuild.
“We were elected by the people who were frustrated over the years of officers’ rule,” Nazir Gurezi, the erstwhile Deputy Speaker and the Gurez representative in the assembly, said. “But we have hit a situation in which the authority is scattered, and this dual governance structure is hitting at the basics of our representation. We are unable to tell people that we have been rendered ineffective.”
Gurezi hopes that the situation changes a bit in the coming days. The restoration of the statehood can get some semblance of normality in which the elected government can think and deliver, he said, asserting that if the situation remains unchanged, the drift will sink the democracy boat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Based on their own assessments, the lawmakers fall into four different categories. The BJP, which is the principal opposition, puts a huge show for the status quo, asserting that everything is hunky dory in Jammu and Kashmir, thanks to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. To its extreme is the opposition and a small section of the ruling party members and their allies who think the election has landed them in a situation in which they are neither able to openly dissociate from what happened in Jammu and Kashmir in the last more than five years, nor can they undo anything. In between are two groups, both within the ruling JKNC, one so keen not to be noisy over issues till the statehood is restored, and another is very angry and eager to be vociferous in demanding what they think was lost. This division played so impressively in the budget sessions that eventually it was the party whip and legislative control that prevailed.
There were interesting issues in which the government literally indicated that it is willing to walk the talk without creating a mess with things. Various lawmakers treat it as owning up to the legacy that has been in place since the fall of 2019. In essence, the budget proposals presented by Omar Abdullah for 2024-25 were the major indicator towards that. While the newer things in the proposals were few and far between, the budget skipped asking even a question about how the public finances were managed in the last more than half a decade.
Interesting Observations
Given the crisis on the ground, many lawmakers from Kashmir and Jammu asked about the state of energy. In response to almost every question about the generations, they put all the NHPC projects in response. “How can NHPC projects be Jammu and Kashmir projects when they are trying to even dither over the royalty, which is the lowest?” one lawmaker asked. “Nobody asked even a question – from treasury or opposition benches, that NHPC took all the major projects from Jammu and Kashmir in the last five years and in certain cases changed the basics of earlier terms and conditions.”
Insiders in the energy sector indicate that in the post-2019 era, Jammu and Kashmir’s own power-generating corporation was reduced in significance, and the centrally owned hydropower giant was given whatever it sought.
On the crucial reservations front, the government has already constituted a cabinet subcommittee to revisit the issue. To all the questions during the session, the responses came from the bureaucracy that defended the happenings so far. There were mentions of the committee but no timeframes were attached to its final report. During the session, the government even submitted a detailed response in the court of law seeking dismissal of a petition challenging the reservation quota, forcing Minister Sakina Ittoo to address the media and clarify things.
On the issues related to media, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah maintained the stand he had taken publicly as part of his party’s manifesto. All the questions asked, within and outside the grants debate, the government response defended and justified the happenings over the years.
One concrete outcome that was very visible from the budget session was the constitution of a House Committee to probe the allegations in the Jal Shakti Mission (JJM). The issue was vociferously taken up by the BJP lawmakers, who had very detailed briefings on the happenings within the department. As it concluded and the Speaker decided to constitute a house committee, the BJP witnessed a crisis within – a minority of the opposition benches supported the move but the majority opposed it. This gave one major axe to the JKNC to grind against the BJP, for the day.
Lawmaker Wages
Since nothing much happened in the 21-day session, the lawmakers made a demand for a hike in their wages. They had their own issues – lodging, boarding, frequent transportation and other things. They said the people whom they represent are always around them, and it costs to attend to them within and outside their home.
“I am a lawmaker and I represent a vast area and people do not permit me to sit home every day,” one lawmaker, who wishes to stay anonymous, said. “When you move out, you will end up spending fuel, which is basic, and then there are other expenses because we do not move alone.” The lawmaker said that “if I am not out, the people come to see me at home with their problems” and “do you think I should not offer them a cup of tea?”. In case a lawmaker lacks the genuine funds to manage all these things, there is a possibility that corruption can creep in.
Lawmakers were keen that a house committee be constituted but the Speaker and a few senior lawmakers resisted the effort. Their resistance was based on the fact that lawmakers in Delhi are working on a slightly lesser package than their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir lawmakers have a fixed salary of Rs 60,000 a month plus Rs 60,000 constituency conveyance allowance, Rs 30,000 telephone allowance, Rs 10,000 medical allowance, which is Rs 1,60,000. They also have a rightful claim to draw Rs 2000 per day in assembly or committee meetings. They also have Rs 12000 for hiring a personal assistant. Their counterparts in Delhi draw only Rs 75000.
Lawmakers have proper pensions, Rs 50,000 per month plus Rs 2000, for every year of lawmaking after the first term. This excludes Rs 10,000 of medical allowance. Their immediate dependents get 75 per cent of the family pension in case of a former lawmaker’s death. Political circles suggest the Assembly somehow played with their demand, even though the Chief Minister had suggested the Speaker must decide but the issue may not remain under the carpet for long. “It (salary) is too low but the fact is that almost six people work in my personal office,” Sajad Lone said. “To be honest, I don’t care. What I care about is the politics and the outcome.”
Not So Bright
Lone, who has worked with the BJP in the last term, admits that the situation is complex. Before August 5 (2019), lawmakers had a different kind of engagement with the system. Now, the scenario has changed—not just in a conceptual way, but in reality,” he said. “If there is no real authority with the Chief Minister or his cabinet, can I exercise power? So, if the cabinet’s authority is merely symbolic, how does it translate into policy? Is there a shift in how governance operates? So if real authority still lies elsewhere, the structural reality remains unchanged. I have already explained to you that the rule of law is not just about legal formalities; it is about how people perceive governance. It’s about what the people of this place feel.”
“People claim there is a shift, but I don’t see any substantial change. They may believe in transformation, but how much of it is truly happening? And if a change is indeed happening, what kind of shift are we talking about? If the framework remains the same, what has really changed?” His argument goes on, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is facing structural change. “Governance is not just about technicalities; it is about sentiments and trust. So, in that sense, even if we make laws regarding housing or other aspects of life, they cannot substitute for the emotions of the people. These things must be acknowledged. That’s why it’s difficult to say whether there has been a real transformation.”
Lawmakers within the treasury and opposition benches insist that while the authority of the House is limited, the assembly must open and discuss everything. “Where shall Jammu and Kashmir discuss things outside the assembly?” one lawmaker said. “The assembly must not freeze debate on issues of police and Waqf.”
Assembly, PDP’s Parra said, is a major institution where the government is accountable. “Previously, we had legislative power, recommendatory power, and an advisory role, and we could discuss and debate anything,” he said. “We no longer have legislative power except for the ones delegated to us, and that is where we are most hit.” That is perhaps why, he asserted, many people believe that the 2024 elections gave Jammu Kashmir almost 100 jobs for five years, to be precise.
