Day 2: BJP MLAs boycott Assembly, hold silent protest

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 22

The BJP boycotted the second day of the Assembly session here today. It had staged a walkout yesterday in protest against Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal’s decision to ask Congress senior leader Nav Prabhat to preside over the no-confidence motion.

In the morning session, the BJP legislators with their mouths covered with black masks, took positions outside the gallery leading to the Vidhan Sabha and held a silent protest.

The Leader of the Opposition, Ajay Bhatt, After a token protest, criticised Chief Minister Harish Rawat for strangulating democracy and refusing to open channels with them. “As long as the present Speaker is presiding over the House, we will continue to boycott it. Both the Speaker and the Chief Minister have murdered democracy. All chief ministers in the past went out of their way to accommodate the Opposition but Harish Rawat is a haughty man. The history tells us that even the proud Duryodhan and Ravana had to pay the price for their false pride,” he added.

Bhatt said the government should not have brought the no-confidence motion when the matter was still pending in the Supreme Court.

The BJP legislators also displayed placards demanding compensation to sugarcane farmers and allotment of land at Khurpia to the poor.

Chakbandi Bill passed

Legislative Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on Friday adjourned the two-day Budget session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly sine die.

Though the BJP legislators boycotted the session, the government managed to complete most of its business, including passage of several Bills, and also moved two resolutions.

On the second day, the Chakbandi Bill was passed amid the Opposition boycott.

While laying the Bill in the House, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said, “I am hopeful that the government that comes to power in 2017 will take the issue of compulsory land measurement of the entire state. The exercise of land consolidation should go hand in hand with the land measurement of land holdings. I am hopeful that the government initiates these efforts.”

Earlier in the pre-lunch session of the House, the Uttarakhand Assembly passed a resolution requesting the Centre to provide 10 per cent reservation to the economically weaker sections of society. On its part, the government assured the House of its commitment to fill the entire backlog vacancies for SC and ST candidates in the coming three months and the posts for disabled persons in one month.

A resolution was also passed condemning the comments made by BJP leader Daya Shankar against BSP president Mayawati. “The language used by the BJP leader was non-parliamentary and we condemn it,” said Harish Rawat while tabling the resolution.