March 5th 2025.
Human-like Text:
The atmosphere in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was anything but calm on Wednesday as the opposition PDP MLA, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, raised a demand to restore the July 31 holiday, also known as 'Martyrs Day', which was previously observed in the erstwhile state. The Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA, Sunil Kumar Sharma, responded with a controversial remark, stating that the individuals being honored on this day were not martyrs but traitors.
This holiday was originally observed to pay tribute to the Martyrs of July 13, 1931, who lost their lives in a tragic firing incident outside the Srinagar Central Jail during the reign of Maharaja Hari Singh. During the discussion on the motion of thanks on the Lt. Governor's address, Para expressed his desire for the restoration of this holiday. However, his demand was met with strong opposition from Sharma, who stood up and objected to it, causing an uproar in the Assembly.
Sharma's statement was met with widespread protests from the NC MLAs and other Kashmir-based opposition parties. They demanded that his remarks be expunged from the records of the House, calling them humiliating and divisive. MLA Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat also joined in, urging for the withdrawal or expunging of Sharma's remarks. Amidst the chaos and constant shouting of slogans between the NC and BJP MLAs, the Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather, announced that the controversial remarks had been expunged from the records of the House.
In response to this decision, all the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the House in protest. Later on, Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Gani Lone raised another demand, this time for the House to pass a resolution for the restoration of holidays on Martyrs Day and on the birthday of NC founder, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. It is worth mentioning that both July 13 and December 5 were removed from the list of holidays after J&K came under direct Central rule. Instead, the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, was included in the list of holidays to be observed in the union territory.
In the midst of all this chaos, former Chief Minister and NC President, Dr Farooq Abdullah, made an unexpected appearance in the Assembly. He sat in the Speaker's gallery with NC leaders Nasir Aslam Wani, Ajay Sadhotra, and Rattan Lal Gupta. It was an eventful day in the Assembly, with heated discussions and passionate demands being raised. Only time will tell if any of these demands will be met, but for now, the controversial remarks have been expunged and the Assembly continues with its business.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
