J&K Assembly erupts over calls to restore Martyrs' Day holiday, BJP MLAs walk out

PDP MLA Waheed Para backed the ruling party's position and called for July 13, observed as Martyrs' Day, to be declared a state holiday. The demands triggered heated exchanges with the BJP, whose members eventually staged a walkout.Showdown on day 2 of J&K Assembly session. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly descended into chaos again on Tuesday as BJP MLAs walked out after the Speaker rejected their demand for a debate on alleged corruption and unfulfilled promises of the Omar Abdullah government.The second day of the autumn session saw heated exchanges, sloganeering and protests over corruption, statehood and a demand to restore holidays linked to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, former J&K Chief Minister and the late founder of the ruling National Conference (NC).ROW OVER COMMEMORATING SHEIKH ABDULLAHThe House witnessed a war of words among legislators over public holidays associated with political and historical figures in Jammu and Kashmir.National Conference MLA Abdul Majid Larmi demanded that the birthday and death anniversary of party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah be declared public holidays. Larmi said that if the government was unwilling to restore those holidays, the gazetted holiday marking the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh should also be scrapped.PDP MLA Waheed Para backed the NC's position and also called for July 13 to be declared a state holiday. July 13, observed as Martyrs' Day in Jammu and Kashmir, was previously a state holiday. The day commemorated those killed in 1931 while protesting against the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh.The holiday was dropped from the official calendar after the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and reorganised the former state into two Union territories in 2019.The demands triggered heated exchanges among BJP and Congress legislators, with sloganeering adding to the chaos inside the House.BJP WALKOUTBJP MLAs sought a discussion on what they alleged was corruption and the government's failure to fulfil its commitments. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather did not allow the demand, prompting BJP members to protest inside the House.The BJP MLAs raised slogans and later staged a walkout, intensifying the confrontation between the opposition and the ruling alliance.The previous day, BJP members had also held placards and raised slogans on several issues, creating a noisy scene in the Assembly.DEMAND FOR STATEHOODOn Monday, members of the ruling alliance -- the NC, Congress and CPI(M) -- stood up to demand the immediate restoration of J&K's statehood.Senior NC leader and Khanyar MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar led the treasury benches in raising slogans for statehood and against the BJP.Speaker Rather asked the BJP members to return to their seats and warned that action would be taken against them."Gunda gardi nahi chalegi," he said, warning that such behaviour would not be tolerated.Congress MLAs also joined the sloganeering, targeting the Centre with the chant, "Vote chor sarkaar ko ek dhakka aur do."- EndsWith PTI inputsPublished By: Devika BhattacharyaPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 11:07 IST