Srinagar, Oct 31: On the last day of the Autumn Session, the mood inside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was tense, not over a bill or a political motion, but over social media.
In an unusual turn of events, both the treasury and opposition benches momentarily united in anger, demanding the Speaker’s intervention against the social media portals.
As the Speaker entered the House to begin proceedings, National Conference (NC) MLA from Karnah, Javid Mirchal, sprang to his feet, visibly agitated.
His microphone wasn’t working, but his voice carried across the chamber.
Once the system was fixed, Mirchal alleged that a local social media portal had circulated a video accusing him of watching reels during the Assembly session.
“When I was asking a question about doctors, I opened Facebook for a few seconds. A video of that moment has been circulated on social media,” Mirchal said.
He said that he “couldn’t sleep the entire night due to the harassment” he faced online.
“Action should be taken against these paid agents,” he demanded, visibly emotional.
As murmurs filled the House, fellow NC legislator and former Deputy Speaker, Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurezi), rose in Mirchal’s support.
Gurezi claimed that Mirchal was not browsing social media but was “scrolling through business documents sent to him by the Assembly Secretariat.”
“His constituents are accusing him of wasting time in the Assembly on social media instead of raising their issues,” Gurezi said. “We are moving a privilege motion against the errant portal.”
The Speaker assured the protesting NC members that the issue would be looked into and “appropriate action” taken.
But the controversy did not end there.
As the session progressed, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary also raised his voice over a similar grievance.
“A reel has been made by some portals where I am talking to my sister, Minister of Health and Education, Sakina Itoo. It is being projected in the wrong way with background songs,” Choudhary said.
“Sir, I demand that such persons who have uploaded these reels be barred from attending the Assembly. The media is an important stakeholder in democracy, but it should not cross its limits,” he said.
Adding a different perspective, Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat, himself a former journalist, called for accountability and accreditation within the media fraternity.
“I have been in the media and have been their colleague. Journalists are fully trained and morally bound to report facts. But if you scrutinise their reporting, one story is not in sync with another about the happenings in the House, as all Assembly proceedings are recorded,” he said.
Bhat suggested that “streamlining accreditation is a must” and that the Directorate of Information should take steps to ensure professionalism in the field.
“When I was a journalist, anyone attached to a recognised organisation or a recognised freelance was given accreditation. Today, anyone with a microphone and a camera claims to be one. For the sake of society, they must act responsibly,” he said.
