Jammu, May 18:
Leader of Opposition and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sunil Kumar Sharma on Monday launched a sharp attack on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather over the appointment of chairpersons to House committees, alleging that the Speaker’s clarification “smacks of a cover-up of wrongdoing” instead of addressing the concerns raised by the opposition.
Sharma said the Speaker’s discretionary powers in appointing heads of six non-financial House committees should not be influenced by “partisan interests” and must instead follow principles of fairness, convention, and proportionate representation.
Responding to the Speaker’s recent remarks, Sharma said an impression was being created as though he was unaware of the process involved in constituting the three financial committees of the Assembly. However, he clarified that his earlier statement had specifically raised objections over the appointment of chairpersons to six non-financial committees where, according to him, the opposition had been ignored.
The BJP leader further stated that the Speaker’s claim that the post of Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had been allotted to the BJP was not a special concession, but a long-standing democratic convention followed across the country.
“The post of PAC chairman has always been held by the opposition, whether in Parliament, states, or Union Territories with legislatures,” Sharma said.
