Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet proposes weeklong Assembly session from October 13

The session has been proposed ahead of the traditional biannual move of government offices to Jammu for the winter months

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet on Tuesday recommended to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that the next sitting of the Union Territory’s legislature be convened in Srinagar for a week, ahead of the traditional biannual move of government offices to Jammu for the winter months.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the civil secretariat, here, after deliberations, proposed that the session run from October 13 to 20.

“This schedule fits within the legal requirement that no more than six months should elapse between two sessions of the legislature. The Cabinet felt October 13 to 20 was the most suitable window,” sources privy to the meeting said.

If accepted by the Lieutenant Governor, who holds the authority to summon the legislature under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, this will be the third full session of the Omar Abdullah-led government since it assumed office last year.

The government’s first engagement with the legislature took place in November 2024 in the form of a four-day introductory session, soon after the Chief Minister and his colleagues were sworn in. The second session was held in Jammu during the winter, ending on April 29. In July, a special one-day sitting was also convened in Srinagar where lawmakers unanimously condemned the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam.

The 2019 Reorganisation Act mandates that “six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session,” a provision aimed at maintaining continuity of legislative business in the Union Territory.

Beyond the legislative calendar, Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting also took up a series of administrative matters. Officials said that decisions related to housing and development works were finalised, reflecting the government’s attempt to balance routine governance with its political obligations.

The timing of the upcoming session is being seen as significant. It will give the Omar Abdullah-led government an opportunity to review its performance before the Assembly in Srinagar, while also setting the tone for the winter session in Jammu, the Union Territory’s other capital.