Jammu, Jun 24 (KNO): Trouble erupted over Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary’s visit on Tuesday to Udhampur, as Bharatiya Janata Party workers protested over keeping the local MLA out of the loop regarding the outreach programme and the inspection of roads.
As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), BJP workers led by MLA Udhampur East R. S. Pathania converged at Majalta tehsil headquarters to protest the exclusion of the local legislator from the programmes.
As the Deputy CM’s cavalcade passed through the area, BJP workers waved black flags and shouted slogans against him.
As per the itinerary prepared by the Deputy CM’s personal section, he was scheduled to inspect three works – the Sidhra-Surinsar-Mansar road, the double-lane motorable bridge on the Majalta link road, and the ongoing work at the Munsif Court Complex in Majalta.
Enraged over the Deputy CM’s actions, Pathania filed a notice for breach of privilege and contempt of the House against the Deputy CM with Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather.
In the notice, Pathania claimed that the Deputy CM’s actions were a direct defiance of the government’s standing instructions, which mandate that legislators shall be invited to all official functions. He further submitted that organizing an outreach camp and conducting a series of on-spot inspections while keeping the local MLA out of the loop constitutes a prima facie breach of the immunities and privileges of a member of the House.
The Deputy CM and Pathania are currently engaged in a war of words, with the latter demanding the sacking of the former based on complaints lodged against him by NC legislators during a meeting chaired by the CM on June 3—(KNO)