Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly announced on Monday that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has granted assent to three bills that were passed by the House earlier.
Manoj Kumar Pandit, the secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, informed members that the Lieutenant Governor approved the bills on March 25.
During the session, the Secretary stated: “Three bills passed by the Legislative Assembly have received assent from the Lieutenant Governor on March 25, 2025. These include The Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (L.A. Bill No. 1 of 2025), The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2025 (L.A. Bill No. 2 of 2025), and The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2025 (L.A. Bill No. 3 of 2025).”
Following some disruptions that forced Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to adjourn the House for 15 minutes, the Assembly resumed its question hour.
National Conference MLAs Nazir Gurezi and Tanvir Sadiq called for the question hour to be postponed to discuss the Waqf Amendment Act. This request received support from members of the Congress, the PDP, and other parties, while the BJP opposed it.
The Speaker ruled the issue as sub judice, hence he could not allow a debate on it.
Former Chief Minister and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed her disappointment over the rejection of the adjournment motion regarding the Waqf Amendment Act, accusing the NC government of capitulating to the BJP’s “anti-Muslim” agenda. “It’s profoundly disappointing that the Speaker of the J&K Assembly has rejected the motion on the Waqf Bill. Despite having a strong mandate, the government seems to have yielded to the BJP’s anti-Muslim agenda, cynically trying to appease both sides,” Mufti stated in a post on X.
Senior religious and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also criticized the Speaker’s decision, stating, “It is ridiculous and condemnable that Tamil Nadu, which has only 6% Muslim population, can pass a strong anti-Waqf resolution, while the Muslim-majority J&K Assembly’s Speaker refuses to discuss this deeply concerning issue for the state’s Muslims, hiding behind technicalities. The Speaker should understand that the strong mandate given to his party was precisely for safeguarding the interests of the community that have been trampled since August 2019.”
