Jammu, February 4, 2026 : All BJP legislators on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, accusing Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather of bias in allowing members of the ruling party more time to speak in the House.
The BJP members exited the House despite the Speaker’s repeated attempts to persuade them to remain seated, with Rather asserting that he was not discriminating between members and was allotting time in a fair manner.
Before the walkout, the Assembly witnessed heated exchanges between BJP legislators and members of the treasury benches, who accused the national party of pursuing divisive politics and alleged that it had derailed the Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College project after a majority of selected students reportedly belonged to the Muslim community.
As the Speaker attempted to restore order, BJP members objected to the time allotted to National Conference legislator Sajad Shaheen, who was speaking on the motion of thanks to the Lieutenant Governor’s address. The BJP alleged that ruling party members were being given extended opportunities to speak, while their own interventions were either curtailed or ignored.
Responding to the आरोप, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather rejected the allegations of bias, maintaining that he was conducting the proceedings strictly in accordance with established rules and parliamentary conventions.
The walkout added to the tense atmosphere in the House, which has witnessed repeated disruptions over the past few days.
