Examiner Bureau | Srinagar:
A demand in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to restore a public holiday on the birth anniversary of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah triggered a sharp exchange between ruling National Conference and BJP members on Tuesday.
The issue was raised by Anantnag West MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi soon after the House resumed proceedings on the second day of the autumn session. Larmi pointed out that September 23 is observed as a public holiday to mark the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh and sought a similar holiday for Sheikh Abdullah’s birth anniversary on December 5.
Larmi also said that if the demand for restoring Sheikh Abdullah’s holiday was not accepted, the existing holiday commemorating Maharaja Hari Singh should be withdrawn. BJP members objected to the suggestion, questioning the proposal to remove the holiday associated with the former Maharaja.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather intervened to clarify that the Speaker had no authority to grant or withdraw government holidays, and that Larmi had only placed his view before the House.
NC MLA Waheed Rehman Para also joined the discussion, saying public sentiment should be taken into consideration. He supported restoring the December 5 holiday and also sought a holiday to commemorate the July 13 martyrs.
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birth anniversary falls on December 5. The day had been observed as a gazetted public holiday in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Along with Martyrs’ Day on July 13, it was removed from the 2020 holiday calendar following the reorganisation of the erstwhile state.
The 2020 holiday order listed 27 public holidays, compared with 28 in the previous year, and dropped both July 13 and December 5 from the gazetted holiday list. October 26, marking Accession Day, was added to the calendar that year.
Official records show that December 5 had earlier been listed as the “Birthday of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah” among J&K’s public holidays.
The current Assembly’s provisional calendar lists September 23 as a holiday for Maharaja Hari Singh’s birth anniversary. The Assembly is consequently not scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
The exchange over the holidays comes amid continuing political debate in Jammu and Kashmir over how significant historical figures and events should be represented in the government’s official calendar.
