Jammu and Kashmir assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Tuesday after the ruling National Conference (NC) members sought restoration of the state holiday on the birth anniversary of party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah or cancellation of holiday commemorating Maharaja Hari Singh.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members objected after NC MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi demanded that either the holiday for the birth or death anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah—which fall on December 5 and September 8, respectively—be restored, or the holiday commemorating Maharaja Hari Singh on September 23 be cancelled. Larmi was speaking during the question hour on the second day of the autumn session of the J&K assembly.

“Tomorrow, there is a holiday in the name of Maharaja Hari Singh. My demand is that there should be holidays on Sheikh Abdullah’s birth and death anniversaries. I want the holidays restored or cancel the holiday observed in Maharaja’s memory,” Larmi said, immediately triggering the opposition BJP members.

Four months after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the centre-controlled administration of J&K changed the list of official holidays. The administration did away with July 13 (Martyrs’ Day) and December 5 as official holidays, and added October 26—the day the region acceded to the Union of India in 1947—to the list.

After Larmi’s demand, the BJP members immediately stood up and started shouting slogans like ‘Maharaja Hari Singh amar rahe’. Another NC member Nazir Gurezi said that Sheikh Abdullah was the architect of ‘land to tiller’ in J&K, a revolutionary scheme which lifted the status of peasants in the region.

“We have no objection to having a holiday on any of the personalities but Sheikh’s legacy should also be respected,” he said. As the BJP members continued raising slogans, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather urged the members to have their seats. “I am here neither to announce any holiday nor to cancel any. Some members expressed their opinion only,” he said.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Para also supported the demand of restoration of December 5 holiday. He also raised the demand for restoration of July 13 Martyrs’ Day as a state holiday. “People’s emotions are associated with Sheikh Abdullah’s legacy. July 13 marks the beginning of democratic awakening in J&K and must also be restored as a state holiday,” he said.

BJP member R S Pathania charged the treasury benches with disrupting the House. “The ruling party is trying to disrupt the proceedings of the House,” he said. Another BJP member Surjit Singh Slathia said that they wanted the House to function and urged the government to answer the issues raised by the BJP on Monday.

Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat said that every leader has contributed to the building of the state. “Hooliganism won’t be tolerated. A consensus should evolve on these issues,” he said.

BJP members continued to raise slogans and wanted the government to respond to issues raised by the party on Monday including power tariff hike and regularisation of daily wagers.

“Government should take note of the issues which we raised yesterday,” said BJP member Sham Lal Sharma after which the members staged a walkout from the House except one, Yudhvir Sethi, who wanted to participate in the question hour and seek a response from the chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Omar hailed Sethi while taunting the BJP. “I want to salute the honourable MLA. Leaving his whole party aside, he is the only member who is concerned with the issues of the public and wants to use the House for the benefit of people. This distinguishes the difference between a real and a fake MLA,” Abdullah said. The BJP members returned to the House after some time as the question hour resumed.

The stopping of civilian traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway to pave the way for security or Amarnath Yatra convoys became a hot topic of debate in the assembly, with members likening it to the ‘Berlin Wall’ of Germany.

The members called it discriminatory to Kashmiris, noting that it forces patients, students, and office goers to wait for hours every day as security convoys get the first right to pass while civilian traffic comes to a standstill.

The issue was first raised by PDP MLA Waheed Para. He said that the national highway has become a source of discrimination. “Everyday, people are stopped whether owing to yatra, tourists or convoys. Everyday there is a halt of 10-15 minutes. People who gave their land for the highway are being discriminated against. It has become a sense of humiliation for all of us,” he said.

He said that this was like a ‘Berlin Wall’—’an us-versus-them situation’. Para urged the government to take up the issue with the security agencies and the unified command and review the existing restrictions to ensure that security measures do not result in discrimination, humiliation or unnecessary disruption of civilian movement.

Soon after, NC MLA Larmi also raised the issue and sought a resolution in the J&K assembly against the highway halts.

CM Omar Abdullah said that Jammu division’s tourism allocation rose from ₹56.50 crore in 2023-24 to ₹62.85 crore in 2025-26 with 29 works underway across five pilgrimage circuits.

He said that the government has adopted a comprehensive and multi-pronged strategy for the development, promotion and diversification of tourism in Jammu division, with a focus on developing new and emerging destinations and positioning Jammu as a year-round tourist destination at the national and international levels.

Replying to a question raised by MLA Jammu East Yudhvir Sethi, the CM, who also holds the tourism portfolio, said the strategy combines developmental interventions with sustained promotional activities to diversify the tourism product of Jammu division.

He said the tourism department is focusing on pilgrimage, heritage, adventure, eco, nature, rural, cultural, wellness and leisure tourism, besides strengthening infrastructure and improving tourist amenities at existing and emerging destinations

‘Can’t make every tourist destination Gulmarg’

The CM said that the government cannot replicate the Gulmarg model of tourism infrastructure at every destination in J&K, emphasising that development plans must take into account the unique character, attractions and visitor potential of individual destinations.

Replying to questions by MLA Saif-ud-Din Bhat in the House, the CM said that the government has to adopt a destination-specific approach rather than replicate the same infrastructure across all tourist destinations.

“We can’t make every tourist destination Gulmarg, and build gondolas at every destination. Every tourist destination has its unique and separate attraction,” Omar said.

Govt may consider extending power amnesty scheme for poor: Omar

The CM said that the J&K government is examining on merits the matter of reintroducing or extending the Amnesty Scheme for power consumers, while stressing that repeated waivers of electricity dues would be unfair to consumers who pay their bills on time.

Replying to a question by MLA Vikram Randhawa during question hour, Omar, who also holds the power portfolio, said that the matter regarding reintroduction/extension of the Amnesty Scheme for power consumers is being examined by the department on merits. The question sought details on the proposed extension of the scheme. The CM said that while repeated amnesty schemes could have an adverse impact on the culture of timely bill payment, the government could consider extending relief to people living below the poverty line and other underprivileged consumers on a case-to-case basis.

Assembly passes Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill

The J&K assembly on Tuesday passed the bill seeking to amend the J&K Cooperatives Societies Act 1989 and to repeal the J&K Self Reliant Cooperative Act 1999. A resolution was also moved seeking to make necessary amendment to Section 23 of Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, to exempt all teachers appointed before October 31, 2019 from appearing in teacher eligibility test. The discussion on the issue will continue on Thursday.

A senior correspondent with Hindustan Times, Ashiq Hussain has reported from Kashmir since the year 2008. He has been writing extensively on politics, militancy, environment and developmental issues in J&K. He has reported for the paper during one of the transformative periods in J&K’s history. Besides HT, he has also reported and edited for local news dailies and weeklies in Kashmir. He has a master's degree in mass communication and journalism from Kashmir University.Picture link: https://x.com/aashiqbhatt/photo, X handle: @aashiqbhatt, mail:ashiq.hussain@htlive.comRead More