Farmers Movement Archive

Congress stages walkout over short duration of Haryana assembly

Congress, the principal opposition party in the Haryana assembly, staged a walkout from the House on the first day of the second part of the monsoon session on Thursday, demanding that the assembly’s sittings be increased. Trouble started after speaker Gian Chand Gupta introduced the business advisory committee (BAC) report that approved wrapping the session in two days. Leader of Opposition and the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda questioned why the session was being concluded in just two sittings and demanded that the duration of the session be increased to discuss hot-button issues concerning farmers. The speaker assured the Congress members, who were on their feet and some of them had trooped into the well of the House, that he will extend the duration of the sitting on Friday until the entire business of the day was over. The speaker Gupta said that if required the Friday’s sitting could be extended till late evening. But Congress MLAs refused to relent and din prevailed in the House. Hooda said there were hosts of issues, including the contentious three farm laws of the Centre, that needed to be debated in the House. Taking a dig at the Congress lawmakers, parliamentary affairs minister Kanwar Pal said the main opposition party was making noise in order to run away from holding a debate. The speaker again assured the Congress, saying: “I will give you as much time as you want for discussion...I will give you enough time...” Refusing to accept the BAC report, Hooda along with other Congress MLAs walked out of the House and the House adopted the BAC report through voice vote.

Hindustan Times

06-11-2020

Chandigarh