The first Assembly session of the fourth elected Vidhan Sabha being adjourned sine die on Tuesday after the vote on account was passed and the vote of thanks on the Governor’s address was completed, things have landed the BJP legislators in a piquant situation with the leader of the opposition Indira Hridayesh having stolen the show.
Observers say that Hridayesh, given her vast legislative experiences, has left the treasury bench dumb -founded by her last- minute change of tacks, withdrawing her earlier demand for sending the crucial lokayukta Act to a select committee.
Since the declaration of the Assembly election-2017 result, BJP kept on clamouring to have two bills related to Transfer Act and lokayukta Act-passed during the earlier BJP regime in 2011 –tabled in the first session of the present Assembly. Accordingly, they were placed in the House on Tuesday.
Notably, the business to be taken by the House is decided a day before at the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting. It was thus decided on Monday that the Opposition would demand the two bills being referred to the select committee for a deeper study.
There was thus no surprise in the Opposition led by the leader of the opposition demanding in unison for the Uttarakhand State Transfer Bill-2017 being referred to a select committee. They said that the State Government was bent on having the bill passed in a tearing hurry without adequately going through the pros and cons of the bill. later, as the Speaker brought the motion the House passed the bill with the consent of the majority. However, the opposition chose to stick to its guns. Seemingly mellowing down with the opposition maintaining its stridency, the State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant agreed to send the bill to the select committee with one month being fixed for the submission of the report.
However, things took a queer turn regarding another crucial bill related to Uttarakhand State lokayukta Act-2017, passed in 2011 by the erstwhile BJP Government and kept in abeyance by the Congress Government formed a year later.
As per the schedule decided during the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting, the opposition was vociferous while demanding the bill be referred to a select committee to enable the latter in look into its provisions more deeply. Unmoved by the Congress’s argument, the treasury bench engaged itself in speaking volume of the bill, eulogising it as an effective instrument to weed out corruption. The opposition further raised its stridency, demanding the properties of the former Chief Ministers and their near and dear ones be brought under the purview of lokayukta. Treasury bench continued to defend the bill, terming it as fool-proof with enough of autonomy being imparted to it to function free from any Governmental pressure. It was at this time that the Congress flabbergasted the treasury bench as the opposition decided to change its tacks and backing out from its earlier view, moved to lend its full weight behind the bill. Stupefying the over-confident treasury bench, Hridayesh announced that the bill having been brought to deal with corruption, they were withdrawing their demand to refer it to a select committee. What happened hereafter was strange as the State Government took a u- turn and decided to refer the bill to the select committee with a month being fixed for the submission of its report.
“The u turn on the part of the Government might be construed as its being baffled by the unexpected turn of things. It seems that the Government had been under the impression that with Congress sticking to its stance regarding the bill being referred to select committee, they would safely push it to the committee. This is because they knew that the bill has been tabled in a hurry to showcase the party’s commitment to the pledges it made during the electioneering and in the immediate aftermath of its spectacular victory. There is little doubt that the bill requires review or else the bill becoming an act might land the power that be in trouble,” said a State watcher.
This apart, Hridayesh scored another victory as the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat decided to provide Congress MlA Mamta Rakesh with Y category security in view of her threat perception in the wake of her receipt of an unnamed threat letter.
Earlier, as the Congress MlAs demanded the same the parliamentary affairs minister Pant agreed to a special security for her. While addressing the House on the vote of thanks on the Governor’s speech, CM Rawat said that his Government was committed to provide security to the women of the State.
“Hridayesh literally pounced on him at the time, saying that his Government was not providing Y category security to a woman MlA smarting under threat, a deft move that saw the CM giving his prompt nod to the Congress demand, leaving Hridayesh smile a triumphant smile,” said an observer.