The 12-day budget session of the Assembly slated to start on June 8, the enfeebled Opposition, left with just 12 seats, including 11 lying with Congress, in the 70 member- strong House, is gearing up not to allow the treasury bench to breathe easy. “We would employ every means to tear into the treasury bench by firing pointed questions at the functioning of the Trivendra Singh Rawat Government. We refrained from going all- out during the first two sessions of the Assembly, as the Government had just assumed charge. But this session would prove different,” said Preetam Singh who has recently taken charge as the president of the state Congress while talking to The Pioneer on Wednesday.
Sources say that Vidhan Sabha has so far received over 350 questions. “Most of them have potential to leave the treasury bench embarrassed. We are now gearing up to confront them adequately. We are taking full preparations to present answers that would rob the Opposition of the fire power it is set to use to catch the treasury bench unaware,” says a close aide of the chief minister working in the Secretariat.
Preetam Singh said that they are taking the upcoming session pretty seriously. “The first session was called to have the vote on account passed while the second one was convened to pass the State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) act. We desisted from using our full fire power with the treasury bench having the excuse of just settling down. But this time, we would launch the onslaughts expected of a responsible Opposition in tune with the cardinal principle governing Parliamentary democracy,” he averred.
However, technically, the upcoming session would be deemed as the continuation of the second session called to pass SGST. “No fresh notification needs to be issued as the previous session was not wound up,” said a senior officer working in the Assembly.
Another Congress MlA said that the upcoming session would prove to be a stormy one. “We have enough grounds to tear into the Government. Even the BJP-helmed Union government has completed three years in office.
The State Government has meanwhile got enough time to settle down. Our focus would be on the ongoing four- shrine pilgrimage as we are seeing that the state government has miserably failed to provide the facilities and security to the pilgrims. Road accidents are happening at regular intervals with the pilgrims from other States dying in alarming number. There is no arrangement of medical check- up worth its name nor are there sufficient medical facilities being provided to them en route the pilgrimage,” the MlA said.
“Besides, the crime graph assuming grim proportions with the women bearing the brunt, we would go all- out to corner the treasury bench. Recently, a girl was subjected to acid attack in Haridwar district. This is one of the numerous crimes happening across the State. Besides, despite the Chief Minister taking review meetings involving several departments, nothing concrete is coming out of them,” he added.
Notably, in the two sessions held so far, the Opposition did not get time to submit questionnaire with both the sessions being convened at short notice. As far as the maiden session was concerned the members were unable even to draft questions.
With the Opposition taking the upcoming session in right earnest, the State Government is on its part pulling up its socks to take on the expected onslaught. The Secretariat being engaged in preparing answers to the questions submitted so far, the Government has kept in abeyance the transfers of the Secretariat employees.