Discussions on issues arising under point of order disallowed
Shimla | TNR
The monsoon session of the Himachal Assembly saw heated arguments between the ruling party and Opposition members on Monday, as Dr Dhaniram Shandil, Congress MLA, Solan was prevented from raising an issue under the point of order. The Opposition raised slogans on the floor of the House, despite Speaker Vipin Parmar’s appeal for decorum.
Heated arguments by both sides
Heated arguments from both sides led Parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Bhardwaj to take control over the situation.
Blaming the Opposition for the pandemonium, he demanded an apology, stating that the Opposition’s behaviour in the House left much to be desired.
The opposition leader, he said, had been expelled on a previous occasion for unruly behaviour in the House.
Following this, the Speaker allowed the ruling party MLA Narendra Thakur and then Shandil to voice their opinions.
Shandil raised the issue of physically challenged people not being allowed to meet the Chief Minister in the House as also that of their promotions, a proposed Tricolour march and their promotions and pensions.
Debates on non-priority issues should be avoided on the floor of the House: CM
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that matters that did not fall in the ‘urgent’ category should not be taken up during Question Hour.
Adding that it was not favourable to bring up several issues simultaneously, he said this could be reserved for discussion either during Zero Hour or at a separate time allotted in the House for such a discussion.
Speaker’s contention
The Speaker asked the Opposition to clarify who would lead the talks on a specific topic.
He stated that while the Chief Minister represented the ruling party, the Opposition was unclear as to who would talk on an issue as several people were seen volunteering and raising their hands to speak.
