Speaking on the first day of the three-day quasquicentennial celebrations on the completion of 125 years of the state legislature, Singh said the legislators should introspect over the “shameful and violent” incidents that took place inside Vidhan Sabha in 1993 and 1997, when more than 50 members were injured when they clashed and hit each other with microphones.
Members should take a pledge never to lower the dignity of the House, they should also resolve to listen to the Governor’s address despite any external pressure over them, and should not obstruct the address by showing black flags, said Singh.
He lamented that successive governments had made it a practice to get the budget passed in five minutes, and said that the sessions must run for a longer period to provide elected public representatives an opportunity to raise the voices of the people they represented.
He pointed out that the constitutional posts of the Assembly’s deputy speaker and Legislative Council’s deputy chairman had been vacant for years only because these posts go to an Opposition member. Further, it was a bad trend that the House committees were constituted, but never conduct any meetings.
Congress MLA Pramod Tiwari said it was distressful that the days of the House sessions were becoming less and less. Rules should be made so that a government be dissolved if it fails to run the session for a minimum of 60 days in a year. He said the rules should also be changed so that the question hour is never stalled.
Recollecting that Tiwari as finance minister had immediately stopped the proposed extension of a “corrupt” officer on his request, Om Prakash Sharma, MLC from teachers’ constituency, said that nowadays governments are not so sensitive towards the House as they used to be earlier.
Chief guest Tiwari said while it was good to celebrate the completion of 125 years of the state legislature as a historical event, it should not be forgotten that the formation of the council in 1887 by the British government was nothing but a lollipop to the Indians fighting for freedom. He said all the legislators should work like karmyogis to make the state a better place.
In the joint sitting of the members of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, Tiwari, Kamal Ahmed Rizvi and Raja Ram Kisan were felicitated as the members of the first Assembly constituted after Independence in 1952. Akhilesh said the members should ensure that the people’s faith in the House does not break.