Srinagar, Sept. 23 -- Jammu and Kashmir assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Tuesday after the ruling National Conference (NC) members sought restoration of the state holiday on the birth anniversary of party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah or cancellation of holiday commemorating Maharaja Hari Singh. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members objected after NC MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi demanded that either the holiday for the birth or death anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah-which fall on December 5 and September 8, respectively-be restored, or the holiday commemorating Maharaja Hari Singh on September 23 be cancelled. Larmi was speaking during the question hour on the second day of the autumn session of the J&K assembly. "Tomorrow, there is a holiday in the name of Maharaja Hari Singh. My demand is that there should be holidays on Sheikh Abdullah's birth and death anniversaries. I want the holidays restored or cancel the holiday observed in Maharaja's memory," Larmi said, immediately triggering the opposition BJP members. Four months after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the centre-controlled administration of J&K changed the list of official holidays. The administration did away with July 13 (Martyrs' Day) and December 5 as official holidays, and added October 26-the day the region acceded to the Union of India in 1947-to the list. After Larmi's demand, the BJP members immediately stood up and started shouting slogans like 'Maharaja Hari Singh amar rahe'. Another NC member Nazir Gurezi said that Sheikh Abdullah was the architect of 'land to tiller' in J&K, a revolutionary scheme which lifted the status of peasants in the region. "We have no objection to having a holiday on any of the personalities but Sheikh's legacy should also be respected," he said. As the BJP members continued raising slogans, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather urged the members to have their seats. "I am here neither to announce any holiday nor to cancel any. Some members expressed their opinion only," he said. PDP MLA Waheed Para also supported the demand of restoration of December 5 holiday. He also raised the demand for restoration of July 13 Martyrs' Day as a state holiday. BJP member R S Pathania charged the treasury benches with disrupting the House. Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat said that every leader has contributed to the building of the state. "Hooliganism won't be tolerated. A consensus should evolve on these issues," he said. BJP members continued to raise slogans and wanted the government to respond to issues raised by the party on Monday including power tariff hike and regularisation of daily wagers. "Government should take note of the issues which we raised yesterday," said BJP member Sham Lal Sharma after which the members staged a walkout from the House except one, Yudhvir Sethi, who wanted to participate in the question hour. Omar hailed Sethi while taunting the BJP. "I want to salute the honourable MLA. Leaving his whole party aside, he is the only member who is concerned with the issues of the public and wants to use the House for the benefit of people. This distinguishes the difference between a real and a fake MLA," Abdullah said. The stopping of civilian traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway to pave the way for security or Amarnath Yatra convoys became a hot topic of debate in the assembly, with members likening it to the 'Berlin Wall' of Germany. The members called it discriminatory to Kashmiris, noting that it forces patients, students, and office goers to wait for hours every day as security convoys get the first right to pass while civilian traffic comes to a standstill. CM Omar Abdullah said that Jammu division's tourism allocation rose from Rs.56.50 crore in 2023-24 to Rs.62.85 crore in 2025-26 with 29 works underway across five pilgrimage circuits. He said that the government has adopted a comprehensive and multi-pronged strategy for the development, promotion and diversification of tourism in Jammu division, with a focus on positioning Jammu as a year-round tourist destination at the national and international levels. The CM said that the J&K government is examining on merits the matter of reintroducing or extending the Amnesty Scheme for power consumers, while stressing that repeated waivers of electricity dues would be unfair to consumers who pay their bills on time. The CM said that while repeated amnesty schemes could have an adverse impact on the culture of timely bill payment, the government could consider extending relief to people living below the poverty line and other underprivileged consumers on a case-to-case basis. The J&K assembly on Tuesday passed the bill seeking to amend the J&K Cooperatives Societies Act 1989 and to repeal the J&K Self Reliant Cooperative Act 1999. A resolution was also moved seeking to make necessary amendment to Section 23 of Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, to exempt all teachers appointed before October 31, 2019 from appearing in teacher eligibility test. The discussion on the issue will continue on Thursday....