Engineer Rashid gets his day in Parliament: 10 hrs of House, 1 min of speaking time

Arrested nether the UAPA successful an alleged panic backing case, Rashid has been lodged successful Tihar Jail since 2019. The past clip helium was retired of situation was erstwhile helium was fixed interim bail to run for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections successful September past year.

Before that, helium was allowed retired successful July 2024 to beryllium sworn successful arsenic MP aft pulling disconnected a stunning triumph from the Baramulla spot successful the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, contesting from down bars and defeating National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah and People’s Conference main Sajad Lone.

Rashid’s entreaty to beryllium allowed to be Parliament since past was yet accepted connected Monday, erstwhile the Delhi High Court granted him 2 days of parole to enactment successful the ongoing Budget Session, connected Tuesday and Thursday. But with riders: helium could not usage a cellphone oregon the Internet, and could not talk to the media oregon immoderate idiosyncratic but those required successful his relation arsenic an MP.

On Tuesday morning, a elder Delhi Police serviceman said, Rashid was picked up successful a jailhouse van by the Delhi Armed Police from Tihar Jail, and archetypal taken for a regular wellness check-up to RML Hospital. “At astir 9.30 am, the jailhouse van reached Parliament, wherever his custody was handed implicit to the CISF, which is wide in-charge for information of the Parliament building. While we took each the information precautions, the CISF excessively had formed a peculiar team, which was contiguous with Rashid passim the day,” the serviceman said.

The Parliament proceedings began astatine 11 am. During the Question Hour, arsenic Rashid sat watching the proceedings, 2 Kashmir MPs made their mode to beryllium adjacent to him. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi (Srinagar constituency) and Mian Altaf Ahmad (Anantnag-Rajouri) — some belonging to the NC — were with him for implicit 20 minutes each.

Sources said they talked with Rashid mostly astir his health, his parole and his case.

At 1.16 pm, aft the Zero Hour had begun, Rashid made his mode to the Speaker’s dais, wherever members tin taxable their names truthful arsenic to enactment successful the discussion.

On the mode backmost to his seat, helium stopped to greet immoderate Congress and Samajwadi Party MPs, including SP president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi and Adoor Prakash.  Not agelong after, Jagdambika Pal, who was successful the Speaker’s chair, called retired his sanction to speak.

In the clip assigned to him, Rashid raised the request for tunnels to amended connectivity to North Kashmir areas specified arsenic Keran, Karnah and Machil that get chopped disconnected during adverse upwind conditions.

Then, helium urged the authorities to probe the caller deaths of a motortruck operator who was killed adjacent Sopore aft the information forces opened occurrence astatine his motortruck for not stopping astatine a check-post, and of a Kathua youth, who was said to person died of termination reportedly aft being tortured by police.

“Hamara khoon sasta nahin hai. Humein jeene do, humein jeene ka haq hai (Our humor is not cheap. Allow america to live, we person the close to live),” said Rashid.

The House rapidly moved connected to the adjacent speaker.

Later, arsenic Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was exiting the House, Rashid greeted her. She sat down adjacent to him and the 2 spoke for astir 10 minutes.

After the Zero Hour, erstwhile the treatment connected the Budget resumed, Rashid could beryllium seen with his manus raised to get the Speaker’s attention.

He besides walked up to the seat again, ostensibly to springiness his sanction for the discussion.  This time, connected the mode back, helium greeted Congress MP and erstwhile Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, among others seated successful the Opposition Benches.

When the Budget treatment ended and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her reply, Rashid walked to the beforehand of the House 1 much time, demanding that helium beryllium fixed a accidental to speak. After stopping her code briefly, Sitharaman continued implicit Rashid’s disruptions.

The Baramulla MP past staged a walkout successful protest, returning soon aft to ticker the remainder of Sitharaman’s reply successful silence.

At different times, it was a quiescent archetypal time successful Parliament for the Independent MP, whose erstwhile legislative acquisition was arsenic an MLA successful the J&K Assembly. The 59-year-old refrained from interacting with different MPs successful the corridors, nor did helium sojourn the MPs’ eating hall.

“Around 7 pm,” the Delhi Police serviceman said, “Rashid sat successful the situation van again. He was dropped astatine Tihar Jail astir 8 pm.”

-with inputs from Mahender Singh Manral