KINS DESK
Srinagar, Oct 19 (KINS): Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief, Tariq Hamid Karra, said on Saturday that offering the Deputy Speaker’s post to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in line with the parliamentary practices.
The National Conference leadership has decided to offer the Deputy Speaker’s position to the BJP, the second-largest party in the House after the National Conference, which will serve as the main opposition party.
Karra said that this decision was in accordance with established parliamentary traditions.
“The National Conference is the largest party and has the discretion to decide whom to offer which position. They are simply following parliamentary practices. According to these practices, the Deputy Speaker’s post is typically offered to the largest opposition party,” Karra told the news agency KINS when asked if the Congress had requested the Deputy Speaker’s post.
He declined to comment on whether the Congress was seeking a ministerial position in Omar Abdullah’s government.
“I stand with my party on the issue that the restoration of statehood remains our main priority,” he said.
However, he said that he was unaware if the Cabinet had passed a resolution on restoring statehood.
When asked about the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), People’s Conference (PC), and Er Rashid criticizing the government for excluding Article 370 in the statehood resolution, he replied, “I am not here to comment on these individuals.”
In 2015, when the National Conference was reduced to just 15 seats, the PDP-BJP government, led by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had given the Deputy Speaker’s post to the National Conference. Accordingly, Nazir Gurezi was elected to the post, while the Speaker’s position went to the BJP’s Kavinder Gupta, later succeeded by Dr. Nirmal Singh. (KINS)
Offering Dy Speaker’s post to BJP follows Parliamentary practices: J&K Congress Chief
