BJP MLAs in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly assaulted independent legislator Rashid Engineer on the floor of the assembly, adding to the ongoing controversy over consumption of beef in the country.
The independent MLA had on Wednesday hosted a beef party at the Srinagar MLA’s hostel to which MLAs, ministers and members of the civil society had been invited. It was held a day before the J&K Assembly was scheduled to take up the bill on beef ban in the state.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Engineer alleged that the hostel was vandalized by BJP MLAs after the party and three staffers were suspended for assisting him.
Following the assault, the opposition National Conference walked out of the Assembly.
Earlier, speaking to the press, Engineer had said, “No courts or legislature can prevent the people from eating what they want."
Recently, a Jammu division bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had directed the state government to implement the ban on beef stringently while the Srinagar bench scrapped the order.