Srinagar- The autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly commenced on Thursday with the House paying homage to leaders who passed away recently.

Before the start of the session, MLAs from the ruling National Conference (NC) and Congress staged a silent protest on the Assembly premises, demanding the release of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, who was arrested in September under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for allegedly disturbing public order in Doda district.

As soon as the House assembled, NC MLA from Sonawari, Hilal Lone, raised the issue of Malik's arrest. However, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather told him to take his seat, assuring that he would allow him to speak on the issue later.

Urging the members to make maximum use of the nine-day Assembly session, Rather said,“We have limited time, and we should try to make optimum use of it.”

Several members and leaders passed away between the third and fourth sessions of the Assembly, and the House will pay tributes to them, Rather said.

The session opened with obituary references to honour former J-K governor Satya Pal Malik, who passed away on August 5.

The other departed leaders included former minister Gulchain Singh Charak, former MLA Dina Nath Bhagat, ex-MLCs Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, Ramesh Arora and Sardar Mohammad Akhlaq Khan, and former legislator Mohammad Sultan Pandithpori.

On Friday, the House will vote to elect four Rajya Sabha members from Jammu and Kashmir. The seats have been vacant since 2021 as the elections to the legislative Assembly were not held until last year.

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