‘Let Farooq attend House’: NC, Congress set up Parl face-off

NEW DELHI: The Congress and other opposition parties on Sunday demanded that Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah, who is under detention in Srinagar since the government’s August 5 move to revoke Jammu & Kashmir’s special status, be allowed to attend Parliament’s winter session, setting up a possible face-off in the House over curbs in the Valley.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an all-party meeting, held to discuss the road map for the Parliament session scheduled from November 18 to December 13, that the governed was ready to discuss all issues “within the framework of rules and procedures of the Houses”.

The upcoming session is likely to see 27 legislations being taken up, including the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, which provides for Indian citizenship to be granted to nonmuslims of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Opposition parties have said they will seek answers from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government over a slowing economy, growing unemployment and farm distress when the House convenes.

A day after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla held an allparty meet and pitched for a smooth functioning of the winter session, parliamentary affairs

minister Pralhad Joshi convened a similar meeting attended by 27 political parties. During the discussions, the Prime Minister said the most important job of Parliament was to debate issues, Joshi said.

Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said opposition parties raised the 82-year-old NC leader’s detention during the meet. “A number of members have raised the issue on the detention of Farooq Abdullah. He should be allowed to attend the discussion in the House. We are hopeful that given the concern of the number of parties, the government will take appropriate measures…,” he said.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also called for Abdullah’s release. “Farooq Abdullah sahab, who is under detention for over three months, should be allowed to attend the winter session of Parliament,” Azad said. National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said the government was under constitutional obligation to ensure Abdullah’s participation in the Parliament session. A leader, who asked not to be named, said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) also asked for Abdullah’s release.

Several political leaders including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti were detained in J&K ahead of the government’s move to effectively scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special powers to the erstwhile state. The Centre also moved to split the state into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.