LA members condemn assassination attempt on Dr Farooq, seek judicial probe

Jammu, Mar 28: Cutting across party affiliations, the J&K Legislative Assembly Saturday demonstrated rare unity in condemning the recent assassination attempt on the National Conference president and the former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and described the incident as an “assault on the soul of democracy.”

Participating in around two-hour long discussion on the incident for which adjournment motion was moved by National Conference MLA Salman Sagar joined by several other party colleagues, all the Members (including Ministers) in unison flagged grave concern over “big security lapse”, leading to a despicable attempt.

They called for a thorough probe into the incident – described by many as “terror act.”

A number of legislators, mainly from the National Conference, demanded a judicial probe by a sitting judge besides a House Committee to look into “serious security lapse” besides other aspects of the incident. The probe report should be shared with the House, they sought.

Some of them demanded that the attacker be declared as a “terrorist” and handed over an exemplary punishment.

Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, while sharing the concern of the members in equal measure, however, stated that the investigation was in progress. He exuded confidence that a thorough probe as assured by the Union Home Minister and the Lieutenant Governor would be conducted, to the satisfaction of all concerned MLAs and the people.

“We should trust them (Home Minister) and hope that an exemplary punishment would be given to the accused so that it could prove an effective deterrence,” the Speaker asserted.

“I’ll wind up the discussion with the assertion that the House has sent a loud and clear message to those responsible for law and order that it was not an ordinary incident. The members rightly said that it was an assault on the soul of democracy. Dr (Farooq Abdullah) Sahib is not an ordinary individual; he is a nationally and internationally recognised personality who has served the country during difficult times and pleaded its cause here as well at the international podium,” Rather said.

Speaker asserted that the members were unambiguous in their condemnation and sent a clear message that everyone wanted a fair investigation.

“Yes, some disturbing questions have emerged seeing the conduct and mindset of the individual involved. The videos depicted him (accused) sitting as a VIP. He had no remorse and behaved in a manner that indicated deeper issues, which need thorough investigation. He stated that he had been waiting for an opportunity to target the leader for the past 20 years. He did not seem to be under pressure. It seemed as if he was addressing a press conference. This was a different spectacle compared to the one in which our Police treat a criminal like him,” Rather noted with concern.

He, however, mentioned that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha called Dr Abdullah to know his well-being and assured for in-depth investigation into the incident.

“We are thankful to the Home Minister that he called Dr Sahib and assured him of a thorough probe. He also assured him (Farooq) that he would be briefed about the outcome of the investigation. We should trust him as he is the Home Minister of the country. Lieutenant Governor Sahib too immediately spoke to Farooq Sahib. Two responsible persons have not only assured Dr Farooq but the people of the entire country, who are concerned and disturbed over the incident,” Speaker stated.

He expressed belief that a fair probe would be conducted and the culprit be given strict punishment so that no one could dare to repeat such a cowardly act in future.

Earlier as the House assembled for the day, National Conference legislators informed the chair that they had moved an adjournment motion to discuss the attack on Abdullah.

Speaker stated he had received the notice which should have been submitted an hour earlier. “But as the issue is of serious concern to all members of the House, I am allowing a discussion without the need for an adjournment motion after the Question Hour,” he said.

Raising serious concerns over the absence of adequate policemen at the venue, legislators questioned how an attacker managed to come dangerously close to the former Chief Minister and demanded accountability.

National Conference MLA Salman Sagar stated that the incident was condemned across the country. “If a person of the stature of Dr Sahib can be attacked in such an audacious manner, one can imagine the plight of the common man. The assault on Dr Farooq, who is a fearless crusader, championing the cause of democratic institutions and human rights, is a serious matter,” he said.

“It is heartening that the Home Minister talked to Dr Sahib and assured fair probe. However, we want the probe to be fast-tracked; we should get regular inputs. In fact, there should be a judicial probe by a sitting or retired judge of the High Court. We know that some subjects, like law and order, are not with us. But when the question relates to the security of our towering leaders like Dr Sahib, our Chief Minister and our other senior leaders, this House should be empowered to discuss and assert itself,” Salman Sagar stated.

Sham Lal Sharma, while condemning the incident, stated, “There was a glaring security lapse behind this incident. We need to admit it as such incidents erode institutional credibility. Dr Farooq Abdullah is a towering leader beyond religious labels. We know that the Union Government and our leadership have taken the matter seriously. We also call for a thorough investigation to establish accountability.”

NC MLA Saifullah Mir questioned, “We are perturbed – why is there continued silence on the part of the administration dealing with the Home Ministry, Police over the incident and the questions related to lack of security?” He described the absence of any official disclosure about the attackers or their motives also as disturbing.

He too demanded a transparent, time-bound judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge to uncover the truth and restore public confidence.

PDP’s Waheed Para recalled the uncertainty after the revocation of Article 370 in 2019 and said the House must adopt a unified stand against any threat to individuals.

“The issues related to security should remain above politics and the former chief ministers including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti must be ensured proper security and accommodation as per the entitlement,” Para said.

Minister for Health Sakeena Itoo thanked the members for their unanimous concern over the incident and said the towering leader had repeatedly faced threats yet stood firm.

“It is deeply concerning that adequate security was not in place during his attendance at a wedding and it is only by the grace of Allah that he survived. Despite such a serious lapse, no action, including suspension of any official, has been taken, which raises grave concerns about accountability,” she shared her concern.

“This House must be presented with a transparent, time-bound investigation report to ensure truth and prevent recurrence, because if a leader of Abdullah’s stature is not safe, it raises serious questions about the security of every citizen in J&K,” she said.

BJP’s Surjit Singh Slathia, while describing Dr Farooq Abdullah as a towering political personality, said, “We consider the attack on him as an attack on secularism, humanity and an attack on brotherhood. It has brought a disgrace, and no matter how strongly we condemn it, it will still not be enough,” he said.

“A comprehensive investigation must be carried out to unearth the larger conspiracy behind it,” Slathia demanded.

Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone called Dr Farooq Abdullah a “colourful person, dynamic and respected leader” and urged that the individual who saved him be identified and honoured with a civil award for bravery. Reflecting on the deep scars left by violence, including his own personal loss, he said such incidents reopen old wounds for many in the House who suffered similar tragedies.

“20 MLAs of this House have been assassinated, including the father of Minister for Health Sakina Itoo and my father. This is unfortunate but security has been used to serve political ends by every government, even in the past,” Lone said, while sharing his own example.

“When my father was assassinated, Farooq Sahib was in the chair. Even after his assassination, I was not provided with security despite high threat perception. We should learn from past experiences. I believe that security must never be compromised or used selectively. Past lapses raise serious concerns about the safety of public representatives,” Lone said.

Emphasising that many families endured such pain, he called for stronger, non-political security measures, while praying for Abdullah’s long life.

Describing Abdullah as a humane and inclusive leader who has stood firmly with the nation, CPI(M) legislator M Y Tarigami said the incident raised serious unanswered questions and reflected attempts to disturb social harmony.

He stressed the need for a transparent investigation with findings shared in the House, while underlining the importance of safeguarding democratic institutions, federal values and unity in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sports minister Satish Sharma, while flagging security lapse, too stressed “the dire need for thorough probe to unearth facts.”

NC’s Mubarak Gul, while stressing time bound inquiry to unearth the conspiracy behind the incident, questioned why no outcome of the probe came to the fore so far.

NC’s Nazir Gurezi demanded a House Committee to look into security lapses besides judicial probe.

Aijaz Jan of NC asked why the accused was not declared a terrorist so far and demanded that the LG administration should review the security of Dr Farooq and the Chief Minister.

B A Veeri of National Conference, while supporting demands of party colleagues about the probe, said that Dr Farooq was meritoriously carrying the proud legacy of Sheikh Abdullah based on communal harmony, truth and justice. BJP’s Pawan Gupta described the assassination attempt on a lively person like Dr Farooq as an “act by a diseased-mind.” PDP’s Rafiq Ahmad Naik too endorsed his point.

NC’s Altaf Kaloo asked why Dr Farooq was not given SPG protection, being the father of the Chief Minister. “Is it a conspiracy? This direction should come from the House that details of the probe should be shared with it,” he demanded.

Dr Shafi Ahmad Wani questioned why nothing came out of the investigation so far.

Tanvir Sadiq of NC, while sharing humane qualities of party president, stated that a person, who could attack a leader of the stature of Dr Farooq, could be nothing but a terrorist.

Sajjad Shaheen of NC too supported the demand of his party colleagues for a transparent probe.

Congress’ Nizam-ud-Din Bhat asserted that the incident was indicative of a disturbing pattern of undermining the institution of public representatives.

Other members who participated in the discussion also included Arjun Singh Raju, Rajeev Jasrotia, Choudhary Mohammad Akram, Javid Riyaz Bedar, Showkat Hussain Ganie and Dr Rameshwar Singh.