Chandigarh, December 28: Just two MLAs submitted questions to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, forcing the business advisory committee of the Haryana Assembly to do away with Question Hour during the day-long Winter Session today.
Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, and Parminder Singh Dhull, INLD MLA from Julana, were the only ones in the 89-member House (Jind MLA Hari Chand Midha had died on August 26) who had submitted questions.
While Choudhry’s questions pertained to corruption, compensation to farmers and lack of irrigation water at the tail-ends of canals, Dhull had questions on issues on farmers in Jind, expenditure on foreign tours of ministers and pendency of internal and external development charges.
Choudhry said she and other leaders from Opposition parties wanted the Assembly session to be extended beyond today and also wanted to have a Question Hour, “but we were told that only I and Dhull had submitted questions”.
Umesh Aggarwal, BJP MLA from Gurugram, said most members had no inkling of the session. “We were thinking it will be held in February or March for the budget or vote-on-account. But it was suddenly announced.”
Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala, however, alleged that the government used the lack of questions as an excuse to avoid Question Hour. “The MLAs are to be given at least 15 days for submitting questions. But the government gave four-five days. Even if only two members had submitted questions, the Question Hour could have been held, as others could have asked supplementary questions,” Chautala said.
“Our MLA Jagbir Singh Malik had at least 20 questions to ask, but could not submit these as the government called the session at very short notice,” former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda said.
AAP convener Naveen Jaihind said it was shocking that both the ruling and Opposition MLAs were non-serious.
