Assembly Belongs To People, Not To Disruptions

The autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has begun, as it often does, with uproar. Placards were raised, slogans were shouted, and the well of the House was stormed. And once again, the people of Jammu and Kashmir were left waiting for the debates that actually matter to their lives. This is not a partisan observation. Disruption, regardless of who resorts to it, is a disservice to democracy. The Assembly is not a stage for political theatre. It is a workplace where the people’s representatives are expected to deliberate, question, and legislate. Every minute lost to sloganeering is a minute stolen from the discussion of unemployment, electricity tariffs, daily-wager regularisation, healthcare, education, and the countless other issues that affect ordinary citizens. This session comes with nearly 650 questions and around 50 Private Members’ Resolutions submitted by legislators. Each question represents a constituency’s concern. Each resolution reflects a public demand. The daily-wage worker seeking regularisation, the patient waiting for NHM services to resume, the household burdened by tariff hikes—these people are not interested in which party shouted louder. They are interested in solutions. The Speaker has rightly appealed for decorum. But decorum cannot be imposed from the Chair alone; it must come from within. The treasury and the opposition both have legitimate roles. The government must answer for its record. The opposition must hold it accountable. But accountability is achieved through debate, not disruption. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have placed their trust in this House. They expect their representatives to speak for them, not over each other. They expect substantive debate, not spectacle. The challenges before the region are too serious for political games. Let this session be remembered for the issues it addressed, not for the noise it generated. The Assembly belongs to the people. It is time their representatives remembered that.