Jammu and Kashmir Lower House Speaker Mubarak Gul on Wednesday said he would summon former Army chief General V K Singh to explain his position on his controversial statement about Army kickbacks to some political leaders in the State to carry out certain works, even as the Upper House passed a resolution seeking a time-bound probe into the allegations.
Gul had earlier said he would write a letter to V K Singh asking him to explain his remarks.
However, as the Assembly commenced on Wednesday, members of the principal opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stormed into the Well of the House and demanded that Singh be summoned. “I will summon him very soon,” the Speaker said. But the opposition members, who were supported by State Law Minister Mir Saifullah, created a pandemonium demanding that Gul set a time-frame of one month for the summons.
The Speaker refused to spell out the time-frame and as the chaos continued, members of the BJP and National Panthers Party also stormed into the Well asking Gul to stick to his earlier position of seeking an explanation from Singh through a letter. The ruckus prompted the Speaker to adjourn the House for 10 minutes and as soon it re-assembled, pandemonium continued, forcing a second adjournment for 20 minutes.
Opposition leader and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti suggested that the House take a vote on whether to summon V K Singh or seek an explanation from him through a letter, but Gul didn’t relent.
As proceedings resumed after the second adjournment, Gul called for tabling of bills, while PDP lawmakers again stormed the Well as the House approved an extension of time for presenting reports of various select committees till the end of the next session. Later, the House was adjourned sine die as opposition lawmakers raised slogans.