The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed an uproar on Wednesday after PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra alleged that his cut motions in the grants were erased. The claim led Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to demand an apology, accusing Parra of misleading the public and media.
On Tuesday, Wahid Parra, the PDP Legislature Party Leader in the Assembly attacked the ruling National Conference for not giving replies to his queries in the Legislative Assembly.
The J&K government is nothing but an extension of the Governor's Rule to ratify 5th August move. After 6 years of attacking LG’s rule , the ruling party now shamelessly defends it in the assembly. Opposition questions are ignored, and my questions in the cut motion on Law,…
— Waheed Para (@parawahid) March 18, 2025
"The J&K government is nothing but an extension of the Governor's Rule to ratify the 5th August move. After six years of attacking LG's rule, the ruling party now shamelessly defends it in the assembly. Opposition questions are ignored, and my questions in the cut motion on Law, Tourism, Culture, Estates, and GAD are deliberately erased. More answers can be obtained through the RTI Act than from this assembly. This government has ZERO respect for accountability & transparency", Parra posted on his social media account.
Speaker asks members to refrain from sensationalism
Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather called upon the members of the House to conduct themselves responsibly and refrain from sensationalism, emphasizing their role as public representatives.
His remarks came in response to a tweet by MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, who alleged on social media platform that his cut motions against Grants for various departments, including Law, Tourism, Estates, Culture, and the General Administration Department (GAD), were not admitted by the Assembly Secretariat, which he termed as discriminatory towards him and the opposition.
Addressing the House, the Speaker clarified that, as per Rule 227 of the Conduct of Business Rules, cut motions must be submitted at least three days before the scheduled discussion on the grants. This allows time for consolidation, submission to the concerned departments for responses, and preparation of replies for members.
He further informed the House that Parra had submitted his cut motions at 11:37 PM on March 17, while the grants were scheduled to be presented the next morning by the Chief Minister, so it was not plausible to admit the same. He further revealed that the Assembly Secretariat had already admitted 105 cut motions from the member which clearly demonstrates that, his allegations sans any substance.
The Speaker questioned whether it was responsible for a member to make public statements lacking logic and reasoning, potentially misleading the press and public. He advised all members, especially Parra, to adhere to decorum and act responsibly in legislative matters, considering his long political career ahead.
Parra defends himself
Clarifying his stance, MLA Pulwama, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, stated that he had submitted all cut motions together as per the rules. However, upon not receiving replies to some specific cut motions, he attempted to resubmit them for admission and sought of response from the above-mentioned Departments.
Parra defended himself, arguing that he had followed the same procedure used in previous sessions. His remarks triggered a heated exchange with National Conference (NC) members and an Independent MLA, disrupting proceedings.
The Speaker intervened, addressing treasury bench members and Independent MLA Mehraj Malik, asking them to maintain order. He reiterated that cut motions must be submitted three days in advance.
