Para moves privilege motion against chief secretary, law secretary over alleged intervention in statehood resolution
The controversy over bureaucratic scrutiny of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s statehood resolution escalated on Wednesday, with PDP MLA Waheed Para seeking privilege proceedings against the Chief Secretary and Law Secretary over their alleged “role and conduct”.
Para alleged that the officers had questioned the contents and language of the resolution, while arguing that no unelected official should be in a position to subject the legislative authority of the House to bureaucratic approval or restraint.
Congress MLA Irfan Lone, CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, and Peoples’ Conference MLA Sajad Lone also raised the issue separately during Zero Hour.
Waheed Para’s privilege motion read “I hereby give notice of my intention to move a Motion of Privilege against the chief secretary and law secretary, J&K, in view of the concerns placed on record by the Hon’ble chief minister regarding the role and conduct of the two senior officers in questioning the contents and language of a resolution of this House”.
The resolution seeking immediate restoration of statehood to J&K was passed by the Assembly on Monday amid uproar by BJP MLAs.
However, during the debate on the resolution, chief minister Omar Abdullah cited severe bureaucratic overreach and pointed out that the Assembly Speaker had received an opinion from the chief secretary and the law secretary over the resolution.
“The Speaker has received an opinion from the Law Department over the resolution. As law minister I have no information, law secretary has sent an opinion to you (Speaker). Chief secretary has also sent you an opinion on the resolution. But, I am not aware. This can only happen in a UT, not a state”, Omar said.
In his motion, Para said the power of an elected legislature to initiate, deliberate upon, amend and adopt resolutions is a core parliamentary function. “While officers are entitled to provide administrative or legal advice to the government within the scope of their duties, such advice cannot be permitted to become an instrument for questioning, constraining or intruding upon the legislative privileges and authority of this House”, he said.
Para said if the facts stated by the chief minister are correct, the matter raises a serious question of legislative privilege and the constitutional separation between the elected legislature and the executive bureaucracy.
“No un-elected official should be placed in a position where the legislative authority of this House, or the right of its elected Members to initiate and debate matters before it, is effectively subjected to bureaucratic approval”, he said.
“This is not merely a matter concerning one resolution or one Member; it concerns the institutional rights of this House and the representative mandate entrusted to us by the people of J&K”, he asserted.
The PDP MLA urged the Speaker to take cognisance of the matter, examine the circumstances in which such objections were raised, and take appropriate action in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and the applicable law governing the privileges of the House.