Debutant PDP MLA who won Omar's seat says J&K Assembly still powerful

JAMMU: PDP's Aga Syed Muntazir, who won the Budgam assembly spot vacated by Omar Abdullah successful the Nov 2025 bypoll contempt an intensive run by the CM and his Cabinet, has said his archetypal acquisition successful the J&K Assembly has been affirmative and that the House remains a almighty instauration adjacent though its powers were curtailed aft abrogation of Article 370 connected Aug 5, 2019, and the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir authorities into a national territory.“I americium hopeful that the eroded governmental abstraction successful J&K tin beryllium reclaimed done this instauration and that people’s rights tin beryllium restored to immoderate extent. The legitimacy radical person fixed to the Assembly demands that it works successful that spirit,” Muntazir told the TOI extracurricular the Assembly connected Friday.“We should not accidental the J&K Assembly is disempowered. No enactment oregon legislator should accidental this. We should not usage discouraging words oregon assertion that thing tin beryllium done done this Assembly.

Even successful the contiguous setup, the Assembly is simply a almighty institution,” helium said.“After Aug 5, 2019, radical gave legitimacy to this Assembly by participating successful the polls successful large, unprecedented numbers not seen successful the past 36 years. Now you cannot archer the aforesaid radical that it is simply a disempowered Assembly. We indispensable strive for governmental rights of J&K, but astatine the aforesaid clip the legitimacy of this Assembly shouldn’t beryllium negated,” helium added.

Muntazir, 38, entered the Assembly for the archetypal clip aft winning the Budgam seat, defeating National Conference campaigner Aga Syed Mahmood by 4,478 votes.The bypoll decision was a large setback for the CM who had vacated the Budgam spot successful 2024 aft winning from it.Muntazir is the lad of Aga Syed Hasan, a elder Shia cleric and erstwhile person of separatist conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference. Muntazir earlier worked arsenic a grassroots activistic earlier entering electoral politics.Muntazir, who holds an LLM degree, said Budgam has suffered astir 2 decades of neglect contempt its proximity to Srinagar. Since joining the Assembly, helium regularly raises concerns astir roads, education, drinking h2o and healthcare successful his constituency, wherever literacy levels stay low. “In the past 20 years, the aforesaid enactment (NC) represented Budgam. People were fixed lone rhetoric, but governmental rhetoric has a support life,” helium said.

“The radical voted for alteration due to the fact that their dignity and basal needs were ignored for a agelong time.”He said the CM had earlier assured the constitution of a National Law University successful Budgam and the committedness was made successful the House. “It indispensable beryllium honoured. The empowerment of the J&K Assembly lies successful delivering what is promised successful the House,” helium said.