Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday withdrew a Bill seeking to amend the Salaries and Allowances of Members of the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Act, 1960, after BJP legislators strongly opposed the legislation in the Assembly.
The Bill, L.A. Bill No. 14 of 2026, was listed for consideration and passage in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
During the proceedings, BJP MLAs said they were opposed to the Bill and demanded that the government should first regularise daily wagers.
Responding to the opposition, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the government had the numbers to pass the Bill but did not want to proceed with it in the face of opposition from members.
"I had the majority, but I will not pass it. I will withdraw it," Omar said.
The Chief Minister said the issue had been part of the committee's report and claimed that BJP members had not raised any objections at that stage, even though their own MLAs were part of the committee.
He said he was aware that the Bill could be politicised and had already made up his mind that if even one member opposed it, he would withdraw the legislation.
"I was aware that they will politicise it, so I had made up my mind that if any member, even if it is one, opposes it, I will withdraw the Bill," he said.
Omar also questioned the BJP members' demand for regularisation of daily wagers, saying that before his government came to power in 2024, the BJP was in power, and asked why it had not regularised the daily wagers during that period.
He said the issue was now being raised with the present government despite the fact that the previous administration had been in charge before 2024.
When the Speaker asked the House to vote on the motion for withdrawal of the Bill, BJP members did not vote in favour of the withdrawal, following which NC members laughed during the proceedings. The Bill was subsequently withdrawn by the government.
Earlier, CM proposed hike in MLAs' salaries and allowances
On Monday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had introduced a series of government Bills in the Legislative Assembly proposing revisions in the salaries, allowances and pensions of elected representatives and former legislators.
The proposed amendments sought to increase the monthly salary of the Chief Minister from ₹70,000 to ₹95,000, while the salary of a Minister would rise from ₹65,000 to ₹85,000. The proposals formed part of the legislative business of the ongoing Assembly session.
MLAs' monthly salary and allowances proposed at ₹1.65 lakh
Under a separate proposed amendment, the monthly salary and allowances of Members of the Legislative Assembly would increase from the existing ₹1.30 lakh to ₹1.65 lakh, an overall enhancement of ₹35,000 per month.
The proposed revised structure included:
MLA salary: ₹60,000 to ₹80,000
Constituency allowance: ₹60,000 to ₹70,000
Medical allowance: ₹10,000 to ₹15,000
The Bill sought amendments to the Salaries and Allowances of Members of the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Act, 1960.
Another Bill proposed increasing the monthly pension of former legislators from ₹50,000 to ₹60,000.
The proposed amendment also sought to expand the definition of family for pension purposes by including widowed and divorced daughters of former legislators.
The measure sought amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Members' Pension Act, 1984, and was listed as L.A. Bill No. 15 of 2026.
