The Congress and the National Conference (NC) on Friday strongly objected to the brandishing of an AK-47 rifle by People's Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Ashraf Mir, stating that such acts from an elected representative were uncalled for in a democracy.
"[He] must remember that democracy only recognises peace and social cohesion. What is anathema to democracy is violence and armed struggle," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told ANI in the national capital.
"It goes against the very fundamentals of democracy. I sincerely hope that the leadership of PDP with all its wisdom will counsel and guide Mir," he added.
Meanwhile, National Conference (NC) leader Tanvir Sadiq echoed similar views and was critical of Mir firing the gun to celebrate his victory in the polls.
"Just a victory makes their legislators pick up an AK-47 and fire in the air. I wonder what they will do to the people of Jammu and Kashmir if they form the government. The police should take cognizance and book him under arms act," he said.
Expressing his disapproval over the incident, the NC leader also pointed out that this was not the first such act committed by a PDP leader.
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"He is not the first one. There was another MLA of theirs who brandished a gun earlier. I feel there is no difference between a terrorist and a person taking a AK -47 and firing in the air, what if there was a casualty," he added.
A video footage, which was taken on the day of counting of poll results, shows Mir holding an AK-47 and firing gun shots celebrating his win after defeating former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah from Sonawar.
This video has surfaced in the midst of efforts to form a government in the state witnessing backdoor consultations among parties.
The Jammu and Kashmir elections results threw a fractured mandate for the 87-member state assembly with the PDP securing 28 seats in the recently-held five-phased assembly elections, while the BJP bagged 25.