In a move that has sparked political outrage, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday rejected a Private Members’ Bill tabled by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para from Pulwama in the J&K Legislative Assembly, crushing the hopes of thousands of daily wage workers fighting for job security.

The bill, introduced by the vocal opposition legislator, sought the regularisation of daily wagers employed across multiple government departments — a demand that workers have been raising for years with little relief.

But the government refused to accept it, and the bill was voted down in the House.

PDP legislators did not take it sitting down.

All members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a dramatic walkout from the Assembly, making their fury clear over what they called the government’s indifference toward vulnerable contractual employees.

The rejection has reignited the long-simmering debate over job security for daily-rated workers in J&K — a community that has been demanding permanent status for over a decade.