Srinagar, Apr 14 (PTI) Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone on Monday said he was not surprised by National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah supporting Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather’s decision to disallow discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

On the NC’s plans to challenge the legislation in the Supreme Court, Lone said while the courts will adjudicate according to legal principles, the emotional appeal that could have been conveyed through the Assembly has been squandered.

“They have 50 MLAs and the Speaker belongs to their party. I fail to understand against whom they were protesting and raising concerns within the Assembly.

“And now Farooq Abdullah comes out in support of the Speaker. This is a tremendous mockery,” Lone said.

The former minister emphasised that a “historic opportunity” was missed to either pass a resolution or at least conduct a meaningful discussion on the contentious amendments to the Waqf Act.

“It could have sent a powerful message from the only Muslim-majority province in the country. Instead, it appeared as though NC was fighting against itself merely to sabotage the discussion and to appease New Delhi,” he said.

“As a sole Muslim-majority province, our collective voice would have carried significant weight but now even if thousands of individuals approach the court separately, the matter will be decided purely on legal grounds rather than reflecting the sentiments of the people,” he said.

Lone alleged that this situation arose because NC wanted to please the BJP MLAs, he added. PTI MIJ KSS KSS