Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: A major confrontation broke out in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Friday as National Conference (NC) MLAs staged a protest against the killing of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the ongoing US-Israel military actions in Iran.Video footage from the Assembly shows NC MLAs chanting slogans and holding portraits of Khamenei inside the House. Police later arrived to restore order as tensions escalated between members. BJP MLAs countered the protest, leading to a scuffle between Congress MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone and BJP MLA Yudvir Sethi. Assembly proceedings were adjourned briefly to calm the situation.The protest was led by NC leaders who expressed solidarity with Iran. Party MLA Tanvir Sadiq said, “We are standing in solidarity with Iran. The entire National Conference and the government of J&K are standing with them. No country has the right to attack another, and India’s top leadership should condemn this.” Sadiq emphasized that the party supports the people of Iran in light of Khamenei’s killing.Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah condemned the ongoing conflict in West Asia, asserting that regime change cannot be achieved through military bombardment. “The only people who get to choose their regime are the citizens of that country. Regime change cannot be effected by aerial bombardment,” Abdullah said. He called Khamenei’s killing a “gross misuse of force and violation of international law.”Tensions in the region escalated following joint US-Israel military strikes on Iran on February 28, which killed Khamenei and several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic. In retaliation, Iran launched strikes against US bases in Gulf countries and Israel.
