A Jammu and Kashmir cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday, recommended October 13 as the date to convene the Assembly session.
Six ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Singh, attended the meeting. The decision will now be conveyed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
According to the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, the LG can convene the session whenever he deems it necessary, but two Assembly sessions must be held within six months.
The last session was held on April 29. The next session is due by September 28 for bills, legislators’ questions and resolutions.
The Assembly Secretariat had written to the Law Department about the expiry of the six-month deadline for holding the session.
The brief session will continue for a week. Issues related to loss of life and damage to property, both private and government, due to monsoon rains, along with the detention of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA) are likely to dominate the session.
The controversial reservation policy and restoration of statehood will also come up for discussion.
The last session on April 28—a one-day special session—was held in view of the Pahalgam terror attack. Before that, the budget session was held between March 3 and April 9.
The last session was marred by protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by the ruling National Conference, which led to three resolutions on statehood being lapsed.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has a strength of 90 members—currently 89 following the death of Ravinder Raina, who was the BJP MLA from Nagrota. By-elections in Nagrota and Budgam, a second constituency which Omar has vacated apart from Ganderbal, are pending.
The NC-Congress alliance, supported by a few independents, has crossed 50 members, while the opposition BJP has 28 seats. The PDP has three seats, while the AIP, PC, and AAP have one member each in the Assembly.
The Assembly has limited powers since Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory. The LG controls the key levers of power, while the chief minister has limited authority.