MLAs come to blows in J&K Assembly for second day over Article 370

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed ugly scenes of a brawl among MLAs for a second consecutive day on Friday over a resolution demanding the restoration of Article 370 in the Union Territory.

In Short

• PDP raised a banner demanding restoration of Article 370
• BJP MLAs chanted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans amid chaos
• Speaker ordered marshals to remove BJP MLAs from the house

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed ugly scenes of a brawl between opposing MLAs for a second consecutive day on Friday over a resolution demanding the restoration of Article 370 in the Union Territory.

BJP MLAs were seen raising slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' as a brawl erupted in the House after a People's Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Kupwara showed a banner in support of the restoration of Article 370.

During the chaos, BJP MLAs entering the well of the House were marshalled out by orders of Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather.

On Thursday, a scuffle between the MLAs broke out after Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, the brother of jailed Baramulla Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid, displayed a banner to restore Article 370.

A stormy scene erupted on the first day after PDP MLA Waheed Para moved a resolution opposing the abrogation of Article 370 and called for restoring the union territory's special status.

Para, who represents the Pulwama Assembly seat, submitted the resolution to newly-elected Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather and requested a discussion on the matter during the five-day session, despite not being a part of the agenda.

"Although the agenda of the House has been finalised, we believe that your authority as the Speaker allows the inclusion of the resolution, as it reflects the sentiment of the people at large," it said.

Shortly after the resolution was submitted, all 28 Jammu and Kashmir BJP MLAs stood up to oppose the move, leading to noisy scenes inside the Assembly.