Hours after the ruling coalition took a fresh lease of life for reaching an amicable solution to the sand quarrying issue, the Opposition readied its arsenal for shelling during the Winter Session of the Assembly beginning on Friday.
Incidentally, leaders of both ruling and Opposition parties, in a meeting with Speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta, expressed hope that the five-day long session would turn fruitful, but they differed dramatically on issues outside.
Training guns on the ruling coalition after the meeting former Assembly Speaker and senior BJP leader CP Singh said that the Government wanted to ignore issues of public interest. “No MlA wants that the proceedings of the assembly get disturbed. If the Government keeps delaying issues concerning the interest of the common man, we will surely raise our voice. The Government should give meaningful answers and it should not shy away from discussing important matters. However, there should be a consensus that at least the Question Hour is not disturbed,” said the Ranchi MlA.
Singh hinted that there were many important issues -- including, sand procurement, theft of arms from a Minister's bodyguards and supplementary budget that would be raised during the session to corner the Government. “This is not a Government. It is a circus. They finally took a face saving measure in Thursday's Cabinet meeting but the issue of sand has not ended yet. It concerns one and all. We will also hold a legislative body meeting soon,” he added.
JVM legislative party leader Pradeep Yadav also said that burning issues, including domicile policy, would be brought on the floor of the House and if the Government tried to avoid such questions the party MlAs will protest under democratic process. The party has already announced to oppose the second supplementary budget, which (according to the JVM) is being presented despite just 22 per cent expenditure of the budget incurred by the Government so far.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren, however, said that the questions of the Opposition would be answered properly. “We hope that the Opposition will play a positive role. The Opposition has its own dignity and both the ruling party and the Opposition complement each other inside the House in a healthy democracy,” said Soren, denying that there was any threat to the Government during the ongoing sand issue.
Social Welfare Minister Annapurna Devi also hoped that the session would be fruitful after the Government “successfully” solved the sand auctioning controversy. “We will always support people's cause, inside and outside the House. There is no difference between the coalition partners but issues of people's interest will surely be questioned. We hope to witness a productive session ahead,” the RJD MlA said.
Earlier, during the all party meeting Speaker talked to the CM about foundation stone laying programme for the new Assembly building, upon which the CM assured him that the dates for the same would be finalised soon. Issues like increasing discussion period of supplementary budget and giving more time for questions of the MlAs were also taken up in the meeting. Apart from the CM, Congress legislative party leader Rajendra Prasad Singh, RJD MlA Annapurna Devi, JVM's Pradeep Yadav and former Speaker CP Singh on behalf of leader of Opposition Arjun Munda were present in the meeting chaired by the Speaker.