MP Speaker urged not to fix House session date during marriage season
BHOPAL: Marriages cast their shadow on the Madhya Pradesh Assemblys winter session that concluded on Friday. On the concluding day of the four-day winter session, 14 MLAs from the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, besides the lone Bhartiya Adivasi Party (BAP) legislator Kamleshwar Dodiyar, were absent in the Assembly for reportedly attending wedding ceremonies. On the final day, Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar read out the names of six MLAs who were to raise their questions during the Question Hour, but the legislators werent to be found. Three other MLAs whose questions were also listed were not present, which left the Speaker surprised. The Speaker subsequently read out the names of the 14 MLAs who were absent. They included Kunwar Singh Tekam, Narendra Singh Kushwaha, Dhirendra Bahadur Singh Dhiru, Satish Malviya, Arvind Pateria, Rajesh Shukla, Virendra Singh Lodhi and Bhupendra Singh (all BJP MLAs), Atiq Aqeel, Nitendra Singh Rathore, Mukesh Malhotra, Bhairon Singh Bapu, Rajendra Bharti (Congress legislators) and the lone BAP MLA Kamleshwar Dodiyar. The absence of the MLAs prompted the states parliamentary affairs minister Kailash Vijayvargiya to request the Speaker to keep in mind the wedding days while deciding the sessions in future. Many of the MLAs have skipped the proceedings today (Friday) after informing that they have to attend marriages in their families. Before deciding the session in future, we need to also keep in mind that there are fewer marriages when sessions are to be convened. After all, being public representatives, the legislators have to be present in marriages as well, Vijayvargiya appealed to the Speaker. It was perhaps for the first time in nearly 20 years that the Vidhan Sabha had five full minutes left in Question Hour with absolutely nothing to do due to the absence of the 14 MLAs, a legislator said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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