JAMMU: A day after National Conference (NC) MLA Mohammad Akbar Lone raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, an official from the Speaker’s office said they were not contemplating any action against the legislator.
“We don’t want to stretch the matter further,” said an official from Speaker Kavinder Gupta’s office.

The MLAs of the ruling BJP-PDP alliance too said they had decided to ignore the remarks made by Lone, who is also a former minister. “It was out of his frustration that Lone Raised the slogan. Since the Budget session of the assembly is over now, we should not stretch the issue,” said a BJP MLA.

Lone raised the slogan after Speaker Kavinder Gupta remarked that Rohingya refugees living near the Sunjuwan Army camp, which was attacked by terrorists early on Saturday, may have been behind it. While Gupta later expunged his own remarks, Lone, who had been the Speaker of the House during the Omar Abdullah government between 2009 and 2013, came out of the House and said he stood by what he said.
“I was hurt as a Muslim when BJP members raised anti-Pakistan slogans when the government informed the House of the attack and the deaths of two Army personnel because of it,” Lone had said.
The opposition Congress, however, demanded that appropriate action must be taken against Lone. “We want action against the former speaker for raising such slogans. He is a person, who in the past has occupied such a high constitutional position,” he said.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson Rafi Ahmed Mir also termed the slogans unfortunate and said, “He (Lone) is in India and raising such slogans in the assembly cannot be approved.”
Source : timesofindia