Shah Abbas
SRINAGAR
Hundreds of ruling National Conference (NC) workers from Sumbal Sonawar of Bandipora district in north Kashmir, appeared in the press colony on Thursday, and raised anti Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) slogans.
The ruling NC reacted a day after dozens of PDP supporters held same type of protest against NC leader and former assembly speaker, M Akbar Lone. The protesters, who had reached Srinagar in dozens of vehicles early Thursday, were shouting slogans in Favour of Lone and against the PDP leaders.
The protest and counter protest of NC and PDP is a result of a verbal duel between the NC Minister, Lone and opposition PDP legislators over some infrastructure issues raised by the latter during the district development board meeting in Bandipora on June 18.
Sources said that the ‘face-off’ took place when PDP MLA, Nizamuddin Bhat raised some development and infrastructure issues of the district during the meeting chaired by Congress minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir.
They added that Lone interrupted Bhat and asked him that the issues raised fell in the domain of the Assembly and he should raise it there.
Lone also ridiculed the PDP members for boycotting the assembly during the budget session in March this year, the sources said.
At this point, according to sources, PDP MLC Naeem Akhtar intervened and urged Mir that the meeting should not be politicized.
Sources said that Lone lost his cool and entered into a verbal brawl with Akhtar. The meeting witnessed “uncivilized” language.
“Lone abused me so I left the meeting midway,” Nayeem Akhtar told Kashmir Life.
Later, Lone during the same meeting felt “sorry” for what he called “an emotional outburst”.
Pertinently, Lone as the speaker of state legislative assembly also had an “uncivilized” verbal duel with PDP leader Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, around a couple of years before.
