In probably the first incident in the history of parliamentary democracy, the Jharkhand Assembly was adjourned sine die after Model Code of Conduct came into force following declaration of the general elections.
Hours after the Election Commission of India announced schedule for the lok Sabha polls, an unscheduled meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of Assembly called on Wednesday decided to cut short the Budget Session; two days before its scheduled conclusion on March 7.
Informing the House about the decision, Speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta said that it was the just option in the given circumstances. “The Business Advisory Committee discussed the issue and arrived at the conclusion that as the elections have been announced and Model Code of Conduct has come into force it would not have been possible for the Government to give any assurance while replying to the questions of members. It has been decided that that the sittings of the Assembly be postponed after today’s meeting,” said the Speaker.
The matter was first raised by Rural Development Minister KN Tripahi citing the limitations with the Government. However, leader of Opposition Arjun Munda opposed the decision to end the session terming it uncalled for.
“Only policy matters do not come before the Assembly but issues related to common man also come in the form of questions. The session was already short and we did not disturb it much considering its importance and presented a sign of healthy democracy. Ending it in such an abrupt manner was not necessary. Several questions remained unanswered,” said Munda.
Former Speaker and BJP leader CP Singh questioned the intention of the Government behind taking such a decision. “When it was known to the Government that the code of conduct is coming into play anytime why it was said that our questions would be taken tomorrow or day after tomorrowIJ They have misled the House and did false promises to us. It is disrespect to the House,” he said.
Assuring the members the Speaker said that all the pending questions would be answered in writing within a month and directed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Singh to make sure that the concerned departments submit answers to the Assembly Secretariat. During the session, total 834 questions were received that include 243 short notice, 396 starred and 151 unstarred ones. However, just 17 short notice and 16 starred questions could be answered.
The Model Code of Conduct is said to have blocked the final approval of the much awaited domicile policy, which is said to be “95 per cent complete”. Where the BJP and the JVM saw it as cunningness on the part of the Government those supporting it pinned hope after polls are over. “Another meeting on domicile would take place on Thursday as well. The policy may come into force after elections,” said Bandhu Trikey who has joined TMC recently. BJP’s Arjun Munda said that policy was yet to be cleared from the Government while JVM’s Pradeep Yadav said the entire draft was still unclear.
Before coming to the end, the Assembly passed Appropriation Bill (2)-2014 by voice vote. Munda opposed the Bill saying that there was no justification of Government stopping good works started by the previous regime like Express Way and Q complex at Deoghar. He also demanded for answer on dismissal of Chadrashekhar Dubey from the Cabinet and validity of the charges he had made against the Chief Minister.