House condemns attack on Farooq,seeks judicial probe
Jammu, March 29 -- Cutting across party lines, members from the treasury and opposition benches on Saturday unanimously condemned recent assassination bid on the life of National Conference (NC) president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and demanded a judicial probe by a sitting judge of high court (HC).
The NC veteran was attacked by 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal during a wedding reception at Greater Kailash locality here on March 11. Abdullah had a miraculous escape when Jamwal opened fire from point-blank while the politician was leaving the function.
Members from NC, Congress, PDP, BJP, CPI (M), People's Conference besides independents condemned the assassination bid in unequivocal terms. While some of the members from NC demanded that the attacker be declared a "terrorist", others demanded that he must be handed an exemplary punishment. In police custody, Jamwal had said that he had a grudge with Abdullah from for the past 20 years. A special investigation team (SIT), headed by a deputy inspector general of police, was constituted to probe the attack.
NC MLA Salman Sagar said, "If a leader like Farooq Abdullah can be attacked then there is no hope for a common man." He stressed upon a judicial probe by a sitting or retired HC judge and called for a voice vote condemnation.
BJP's Sham Lal Sharma raised question as to how the attacker with a weapon managed to come dangerously close to NC veteran. "It is a grave security breach, which is unacceptable," he said.
Condemning the attack, BJP's Surjit Singh Slathia said, "Such an act is utter disgrace and is not acceptable."
Peoples Conference chief and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone, PDP MLA Waheed Para, CPI (M) MLA MY Tarigami, NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq, NC leader Saifullah Mir, NC MLA Nazir Gurezi and other members also expressed their views and endorsed the demand of a judicial probe.
Sajad Lone and Para, however, stated that security to politicians should not be compromised or downgraded selectively.
"After the revocation of Article 370, there is an urgent need for this House to adopt a unified stand against any threat to individuals," Para said. "Safety and security of politicians including former CM and party president Mehbooba Mufti must be ensured and proper security besides accommodation as per the entitlement must be given to the PDP president," he added.
After reorganisation of J&K post revocation of Article 370 in August 2019, home department rests with LG.
CPI (M) legislator M Y Tarigami said, "The incident raised serious questions on security. We demand a transparent probe in a time bound manner and the findings be shared in the House."
Winding up the discussion, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather appreciated home minister Amit Shah and LG Manoj Sinha. "They assured an impartial probe and we are confident that it would be taken to its logical conclusion and the accused handed over exemplary punishment," said Rather. "Farooq Abdullah is not an ordinary individual.he is a nationally and internationally recognised personality who has served the country during difficult times," Rather said.
He assured that the investigations would be pursued in right earnest and that necessary steps should be taken to prevent recurrence.
A total of 3,729 kanals and four marlas (188.75 hectares) belonging to Kashmiri migrants has been successfully retrieved and restored across 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley through sustained efforts of the administration till date, the J&K government informed the House on Saturday.
Responding to a query of BJP MLA, Yudvir Sethi, a written reply stated that the retrieval process was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu & Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997, under the supervision of the deputy commissioners/district magistrates, who are designated as custodians of migrant properties.
"As per the latest information received from the Kashmir divisional commissioner, a total land measuring 3,729 kanals and 4 marlas has been retrieved and handed over to the rightful beneficiaries till now out of which 844 kanals 4 marlas have been retrieved and restored since November 2024," stated the reply. This substantial chunk of land had been under encroachment, and authorities launched a comprehensive drive to reclaim it after receiving complaints from Kashmiri migrants living in different parts of the country, it stated further.
A total of 10,173 applications were submitted through both online and offline modes to the government seeking restoration. "Out of these, 9,713 applications have been disposed of by the concerned district magistrates. As many as 7,829 applications were approved, while only 24 applications are pending," stated the document.
An online grievance redressal portal has been established for registration and monitoring of complaints related to migrants' immovable properties. A steering committee was also constituted to ensure time-bound action into the complaints.
The government further informed that, to strengthen monitoring and ensure time-bound action, it has constituted a steering committee vide Government Order No. 65-JK(GAD) of 2026 dated January 15, 2026. The first meeting of the committee was held on January 26, under the chairmanship of the principal secretary to the government, home department.
CM Omar on Saturday said that the moment government found players on PPP (public-private partnership) mode, the international Yoga and wellness centre at Mantalai will be made functional.
"The moment we get players on PPP mode, international Yoga and wellness centre will be made functional. The government is keen to make it functional," he told the House during question hour. Nearly four years on, the international Yoga and wellness centre, first of its kind in the government sector, made in the picturesque Mantalai of Chenani tehsil in Udhampur district at a cost of Rs.100 crores, remains non-operational.
Almost four years ago, the first-of-its-kind facility had come up at Aparna Ashram, which once belonged to controversial godman Dhirendra Brahmachari - the yogic mentor of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.