less than 10 days before the prestigious Bhoranj bypoll, the Congress party managed to get the Budget Session of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha adjourned sine die amidst vociferous protest by the BJP.
The session was scheduled to go till April 7 as per the earlier schedule though there were only three sittings scheduled in the first week of April.
The BJP had all along been apprehending that the Congress would try to get the session adjourned early for putting its might behind the party candidate Promila Devi for the bypoll. As such the BJP had decided to oppose any move for adjournment.
Speaker BBl Butail announced to adjourn the house sine die, after the clearance of five Bills including the Medicare Bill brought to ensure security of doctors during duty and Early Childhood Care and Education Centre (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2017 etc.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Agnihotri moved the proposal to adjourn the house sine die saying all the mandatory business scheduled for Budget Session had already been completed. Moving the proposal, Agnihotri said that the house was to go on a four days break and there was no reason to continue the session, thus the government wants the house be adjourned sine die.
The opposition BJP objected to the proposal vociferously and BJP legislator Ravinder Singh Ravi alleged that the Chief Minister was evading to face the house as a Delhi Court had declined his plea of quashing the FIRs registered against him by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate(ED) in disproportionate assets and money laundering cases.
Ravi said that the government had been running away from facing opposition on the issue of corruption charges levelled against the CM. Opposing Agnihotri's claim, Ravi said that there were a number of issues left to be discussed in the house.
He said that the house had a sitting left for taking private members bills, where members were expected to move important bills on next Thursday.
Turning down the protesting voices, Speaker BBl Butail said that the court orders did not deter the house from transacting any business or adjournment.
leader of Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal tried to intervene but Speaker Butail took a voice vote on the proposal for adjournment and amid the protesting voices, the adjournment motion was passed by the majority vote.