J&K MLA Waheed ur Rehman Parra filed a breach‑of‑privilege motion against Chief Secretary Atal Duloo and Law Secretary Achal Sethi after a letter from the two officials attempted to block the Assembly’s statehood restoration resolution. The letter, sent to the Speaker’s secretariat, argued that the statehood issue is sub‑judice before the Supreme Court and therefore the resolution should not be admitted. Parra’s motion questions whether elected legislators can be scrutinised by bureaucracy in their legislative functions.
The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday and passed by the Assembly on Monday. It represents a long‑standing demand for the restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status and statehood. The motion was prompted by the bureaucrats’ unsolicited intervention, a move that the Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather called unprecedented interference in the functioning of the House.
Speaker Rather said the letter was sent without ministerial approval and described it as an attempt to undermine the Assembly. Chief Minister Abdullah, who also holds the Law portfolio, denied any knowledge of the letter, calling the bureaucracy’s action a sign of uncontrolled civil servants. Members of the BJP welcomed the bureaucrats’ objections, while Congress, National Conference, PDP and Peoples’ Conference raised concerns over the overreach.
The Assembly will now refer the motion to its Privilege Committee for adjudication. The committee is expected to hold a hearing and may recommend actions against the senior officials. The outcome will signal how far the Assembly will go to protect its constitutional authority from bureaucratic interference.