SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Advocate Abdul Rahim Rather on Friday refuted the social media remarks made by PDP President Mehbooba Mufti regarding the alleged rejection of a resolution seeking a holiday on July 13. He termed her statement “misleading and factually incorrect.”
In an official clarification, the Speaker said that the resolution submitted by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, titled “Declaring 13th July as official holiday to remember the sacrifices of the protestors against autocratic monarch forces,” had been admitted during the Budget Session 2025-26 held in March at Jammu.
Rather said the Assembly Secretariat had received 111 resolutions from 34 members, out of which 87 were admitted for balloting, in accordance with legislative rules. Parra had submitted four resolutions, two of which were admitted, including the one concerning July 13.
“The member was duly informed through Bulletin No. LA1353/Legn/2025 dated March 14, 2025,” the Speaker said.
The resolutions were subjected to a balloting process on March 25, 2025, as per Rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. The balloting was conducted in the presence of seven members, and 14 resolutions were selected and listed for discussion in the House on April 7 and 9. However, the resolution submitted by Parra did not secure a place in the final list.
The Speaker clarified that the resolution was not rejected by the Chair but did not come up for discussion due to the outcome of the balloting process. “The Speaker’s post is the epitome of impartiality. In no case can it be construed that the resolution was rejected outright, which is factually incorrect,” he said.
The clarification follows Mehbooba Mufti’s statement on social media, where she criticised the Assembly’s handling of the resolution and accused the Speaker of rejecting it.
