Speaker withdraws his controversial statement, expunges remarks of Oppn members

Jammu: After the adjournment over attack on army camp in Sunjwan when the assembly resumed its proceedings, the speaker Kavinder Gupta on the insistence of the parliamentary affairs minister Abdul Rahman Veeri and the opposition members M Y Tarigami, Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Ali Mohammad Sagar and Devender Singh Rana withdrew his remarks and expunged the remarks of the opposition members over the attack on an army camp in Sunjwan Jammu.
After the assembly resumed its business the parliamentary affairs minister Abdul Rahman Veeri made a statement about the attack on an army camp in Sunjwan Jammu and appealed members of both the opposition and treasury benches to unitedly condemn the attack and urged the Speaker to withdraw the statement he has made in hurry without waiting for a proper investigation to conclude and full-fledged statement from the government.
Veeri said “Speaker is the custodian of the house and he should not have the made the remark which is bound to divide communities on religion lines. I appeal him that a wrong message should not go from this house to the outside world”.
Speaking on the occasion CPI (M) secretary M Y Tarigami and PDF chairman Hakim Mohammad Yasin said “let this house unitedly condemn the attack on an army camp in Sunjwan Jammu. “Don’t encourage people making statement to divide the state and the communities on regional and religious lines. Let this house sent out a message of regional and religious bounding but not of divisive tendencies”.
Speaking on the occasion NC MLA from Nagrota Devender Singh Rana said “this is a secular state. We have all respect for the Speaker but he should have not made the remark he made on the floor of the house. The remarks of both the Speaker and the opposition members should be expunged without any delay. A terrorist has no religion and the attack on army camp is highly condemnable. Let this house unitedly condemn the attack and Speaker expunge the remarks made by him and the opposition members”.
The Speaker in the end withdrew his remarks and expunged the remarks of the opposition and the normal business was restored in the house.