Jammu, Feb 12: Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, announced on Thursday that the House will hold a discussion on the issue of defamatory content being circulated against legislators through social media platforms.
During Question Hour, according to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), BJP MLA R.S. Pathania expressed concern that no action was being taken against portals spreading defamatory content. The Speaker acknowledged that frequent complaints are received in this regard and asked the Government to make the Enforcement Wing of the Information Department more active. “Frequent complaints are received, therefore the Enforcement Wing needs to be made more active. Such matters should be strictly tackled,” he said.
Sakina Itoo described the issue as a matter of concern for every member of the Assembly, adding that “fake media and Facebook media are beyond control.” Several members demanded that time be allocated for a detailed discussion on the matter. The Minister assured that a meeting would be held with the Information Department to address the issue.
MLA from Gurez, Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, also accused social media portals of defaming politicians. Sakina Itoo further remarked that politicians themselves are responsible: “We are ourselves responsible. We ourselves malign each other’s dignity.”
Responding to these concerns, the Speaker said the House will discuss the matter. “This issue is extremely important issue. Demands for discussion are coming from both sides. We will hold a discussion. Please give notice in writing. We will hold a half‑hour or one‑hour discussion on this matter during this session,” he stated.
Later, BJP’s Sham Lal Sharma complained to the Speaker that Panthers Party leader Harshdev Singh, without naming him directly, for staging a protest outside the Assembly complex and calling legislators “dimwits.” Sharma said: “A person who has been a member of the Assembly three times staged a protest outside the Assembly complex, saying that everyone here is foolish, while he himself has 12 FIRs against him. He is maligning everyone,” he said.
Balwant Singh Mankotia of the BJP also demanded action against Harshdev Singh.
The Speaker assured members that the matter would be investigated and that appropriate action would be taken—(KNO)
