By IANS,
Jammu, March 19 (IANS) BJP leader Jugal Kishore Sharma was Tuesday suspended from the Jammu and Kashmir assembly over his aggressive conduct towards the state’s only woman minister, Sakina Ittoo.
National Conference leaders condemned Sharma for what Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said was “derogative and aggressive posture”.
The incident took place when Sharma, the state Bharatiya Janata Party president, challenged independent member Engineer Rashid, who was vocally demanding the return of Afzal Guru’s mortal remains from New Delhi.
Amid their verbal duel, Sakina told Sharma: “You are also doing what Engineer Rashid is doing.”
This provoked Sharma further, and he told the minister that while he was talking like a nationalist, Rashid was making anti-national statements.
Abdullah said: “The incident … (makes us hang) our heads in shame. On the one hand we talk of protecting women and giving them respect and on the other elected representatives demonstrate a disrespectful and aggressive behaviour against a lady member. This deserves to be condemned in the strongest words.”
Speaker Mubarak Gul then suspended Sharma, forcing the BJP to announce that it was boycotting the session till the suspension was revoked.
The speaker also snubbed Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party leader Balwant Singh Mankotia for countering Rashid.
The speaker said: “He (Rashid) is not asking for Pakistan nor ‘aazadi’.”