BJP walks out over daily-wagers' protests in J&K

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out of the assembly on Tuesday. This was in response to ongoing protests by daily-wage workers. The workers are asking for regularization of their jobs. BJP leader Sunil Sharma criticized the government for ignoring the issue. He mentioned that despite raising concerns in the assembly, there was no response from the Omar Abdullah-led government. Other BJP members joined him, claiming the government was insensitive to the plight of the daily-wagers. There was chaos in the assembly, with members of the National Conference (NC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) countering the BJP's protests. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah remained quiet during the disruption. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary accused the BJP of double standards, saying they were fueling the protests. He insisted that the government was committed to resolving the matter through a committee. Abdullah acknowledged the concerns of the daily-wagers and appealed to them to return to work. He said a committee would deliver a report in six months. He also directed criticism at BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma, questioning what had been done for daily-wagers during his previous term as a minister. After the walkout, Sharma claimed that the current government was arrogant and called for more dialogue with daily-wager representatives. Outside the assembly, he stated that a press conference would be held to present evidence of past claims regarding the regularization issue. On the protest front, hundreds of daily-wagers tried to march to the civil secretariat. The police used mild force to disperse them. However, the protesters continued their sit-in at nearby Shalimar Chowk. An older estimate noted that Jammu and Kashmir had around 61,000 daily-wage workers across government departments. To regularize their jobs, the government needs significant funding.