Chandigarh, Feb 26 (PTI) The Congress walked out during a Haryana Assembly session on Thursday, saying that the motion to introduce a resolution on VB G RAM G law was not as per House rules.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, however, said the boycott of a discussion on the rural employment scheme showed that the “Congress was anti-Ram”.
After the introduction of the motion, BJP MLA Ram Kumar Kashyap stood up to read out the resolution.
Senior Congress MLA B B Batra asked the speaker under what rules the House was taking up the resolution and said that Rule 84 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the state legislature doesn’t permit any kind of amendment when the resolution is moved.
The speaker told him that the House can discuss any matter. Congress MLAs, subsequently, walked out of the House.
Later in a statement, Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislative Party Aftab Ahmed and Chief Whip B B Batra said the wording of the resolution had a significant modification — from a discussion on “extension of employment guarantee from 100 days to 125 days under the Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G scheme” to “the confusion prevailing regarding the provisions of Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G scheme”.
A resolution listed under Rule 84 cannot be altered in such a fundamental way from its original form, they said in a joint statement.
“The interpretation of the rules is paramount and governs the proceedings of the House. When a proposal is not maintainable under the rules, discussion on it is also not legally permissible.
“For this reason, the Congress Legislative Party boycotted the introduction of the motion…this boycott was not an attempt to avoid discussion, but a decision taken to uphold parliamentary traditions and the dignity of the Business Rule Book,” the two Congress leaders said.
They added that the Congress was not shying away from a discussion on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the VB-G RAM G scheme.
“Congress MLAs are fully prepared to discuss the issue in the House, provided the discussion is conducted within the framework of the Business Rules or during the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address,” they said.
Speaking on the floor of the assembly, Chief Minister Saini said the walkout showed that the Congress has harboured such hostility towards “the name of Ram” that they could not stand to be present for the resolution.
“Lord Ram represents the very soul of India, its moral foundations and the bedrock of its civilisation,” Saini said, adding that it was “deeply unfortunate” that Congress harboured such an “aversion towards this sacred name”.
Saini said under the VB-G RAM G law, beneficiaries can avail of 125 workdays, instead of 100 days as was the case under the UPA-era MGNREGA.
However, the Congress was spreading misinformation among workers about the rural jobs scheme, he alleged.
During the Congress rule, workers only got jobs related to digging and filling pits, but under the VB-G Ram G law, the scope of work has been expanded, which will ensure more employment opportunities to the workers, Saini claimed.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mahipal Dhanda said the Congress has spread so much misinformation among the people about the VB-G RAM G scheme. PTI SUN SKY SKY
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