Sopore, Oct 04: Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Sunday said the government has been directed to examine the alleged regional imbalance in the issuance of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) certificates, while efforts are also underway to introduce a translation facility to enable legislators to speak and have their interventions recorded in Kashmiri in the House.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme held in Sopore, Rather said the EWS issue needed to be examined seriously to ensure that no section of society was subjected to injustice.
“Yes, I have directed the government to examine the same wherever there is scope of improvement to avoid injustice to any section of society,” he said.
The issue had figured prominently during the recently concluded Autumn Session of the J&K Legislative Assembly after Peoples Conference president and MLA Sajad Gani Lone moved a Calling Attention Motion over alleged disparities in the issuance of EWS certificates across different regions.
Lone sought corrective measures to ensure equitable access to benefits available under the EWS category, raising concerns over what he described as a regional imbalance in the issuance of the certificates.
On another issue concerning the functioning of the Assembly, Rather said the government was working on a mechanism to facilitate the use of Kashmiri langauge in the House, acknowledging that the absence of translators was currently preventing members from having their Kashmiri interventions officially recorded.
“The government has to look into many angles. Currently we don’t have any translator in the Assembly, which often becomes a hurdle in speaking in Kashmiri. Efforts are on to address this concern in future,” Rather said.
The Speaker also clarified that he had not barred any legislator from speaking in Kashmiri, saying the difficulty was limited to recording the remarks in the absence of a translator.
“I told those who tried to speak in Kashmiri langauge that they can use the langauge but it can’t be recorded as we don’t have a translator in the Assembly currently,” he said.
The issue came to limelight after the NC legislator Mubarak Gul spoke in Kashmiri during the Autumn Session but was informed that his remarks would not be recorded due to the absence of a translator in the House.
Rather said efforts were being made to address the issue and facilitate the use of Kashmiri in Assembly proceedings in the future.
The Speaker was speaking after attending the ‘Youm-i-Meeras’ programme organised to pay tributes to late Atiqa Bano and her contribution to preserving Kashmir’s cultural and educational heritage through the Meeras Mahal Museum in Sopore.
The programme was organised by Majlis-un-Nisa, Jammu & Kashmir, Sopore, in collaboration with Adbi Markaz Kamraz J&K.
MLA Sopore Irshad Rasool Kar and Convenor INTACH J&K chapter Mohammad Saleem Beigh were among those present at the occasion
Several writers and other intellectuals also attended the programme.
