Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Sep 16
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Raheem Rather on Wednesday defended the 10-day duration of the upcoming autumn session, saying its length should be determined by the volume of legislative business.
Responding to criticism from Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, Rather said J&K’s Assembly had averaged 28 sittings, compared with a national average of 24, and urged the opposition leader to “check facts before raising fingers”.
The upcoming session will have seven working days, Rather said, adding that it would cover government business, legislative work and private members’ business.
“It won’t serve any purpose to have a long session. We have to keep it as per the business,” he said.
Rather said the Constitution required that no more than six months elapse between two sessions, but argued that some legislatures held short sessions largely to meet that requirement.
He referred to Assam, saying its Assembly had held a one-day session in June 2025, and cited figures for other states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Goa.
According to figures presented by the Speaker, Gujarat held three sittings after its Assembly was adjourned in March, while Rajasthan held two, Uttar Pradesh four, Madhya Pradesh five, Punjab six and Goa five.
Rather also referred to previous autumn sessions in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the 2015 session lasted from October 3 to 10, while the 2017 session lasted four days.
“The present LoP was part of the decision-making process at the time. We are now holding the session for 10 days,” he said.
The Speaker said extending sessions merely to increase the number of sitting days would also entail additional expenditure.
He said J&K was scheduled to hold seven sittings during the forthcoming autumn session, compared with fewer sittings during corresponding monsoon sessions in several states and union territories.
He also said the J&K Assembly held 22 sittings during its budget session.
The autumn session is scheduled to begin on September 21.
