Remarks row: BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa offers conditional withdrawal of remarks
Jammu, Feb 17: BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa on Tuesday said he would withdraw his remarks if they were found to be against any community, amid protests by opposition parties in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
The Assembly witnessed noisy scenes as Congress legislators Irfan Hafiz Lone and Iftikhar Ahmad raised objections to alleged derogatory comments made by Randhawa against Kashmiris on Friday.
Opposition members, including those from the National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP), displayed placards and raised slogans, forcing multiple adjournments.
Responding to the uproar, Randhawa said, “If I have made such remarks, I will take them back,” offering to retract the comments pending verification of the Assembly records.
The opposition, however, rejected his conditional statement and demanded an unconditional apology to the people of Kashmir.
Speaker Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami intervened to calm the proceedings, assuring the House that the matter would be examined. “The Speaker said he would check the records and expunge the remarks if it is found that Randhawa had indeed made them,” an official familiar with the development said. (KNS)
