Jammu, Mar 30: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti made her maiden appearance in the Legislative Assembly (LA) on Monday after a gap of eight years.
This was her first appearance in the Assembly since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support to her government in 2018.
All four PDP MLAs were seated in the House when Mehbooba Mufti made appearance in the Speaker’s Gallery.
Talking to reporters outside the Assembly, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said key legislations can be enacted even without statehood, asserting that a Union Territory government has the authority to pass bills concerning daily wagers, creation of new administrative divisions and districts and land rights.
She said it is the government’s responsibility to deliver on its promises, particularly employment for one lakh youth and rationalisation of reservation.
The PDP president called for a fresh review of existing provisions related to daily wagers and urged their regularisation on humanitarian grounds, without political considerations.
She further said the institution had lost its stature over time and required collective political will for its restoration.
She called for the coordinated efforts by both the ruling dispensation and opposition parties, says it could help rebuild the institution, adding that the PDP would play its role in the process.
Commenting on the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, she said Iran is driven by a sense of sacrifice “Soldiers of the United States and Israel lack the will to fight, while Iranians remain determined and confident of success,” she said—(KNO)
