Ruckus in House over postponement of questions

NT NETWORK

Panaji

The Opposition members in the state legislative assembly stalled the Question Hour on Tuesday after ministers sought postponement of questions on the allocation of coal block to Goa and the Mhadei water dispute.

A noisy scene was witnessed in the House, as the government failed to justify the postponement of the questions for the next assembly session.

Speaker Rajesh Patnekar had to adjourn the House twice after Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, along with other members of the Opposition, rushed into the Well of the House.

Minister for Water Resources Filipe Neri Rodrigues and Minister for Industries, Trade and Commerce Vishwajit Rane sought postponement of the questions related to Mhadei water dispute and the allocation of coal block in Madhya Pradesh to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation, respectively, as soon as the Question Hour began.

Khaunte, who had tabled a question on the floor of the House on the allocation

of the coal block, sought the reason for postponement of the question after the replies were circulated 48 hours before the discussion scheduled for Tuesday. Joining Khaunte, Sardesai said there was no rule allowing the postponement of a question once the reply is tabled. He said the state government was involved in large scale corruption through the allocation of the coal block.

Khaunte and Sardesai charged that the government wants to hide information on the coal block allocated to Goa at the Dongri Tal II in Madhya Pradesh, as it was attempting a Rs 1,000 crore coalgate scam. They went on to add that the government has appointed blacklisted firm aXYKno Capital Service Private Ltd as the consultant without following the process of bidding and is now trying to allocate the coal block to a big contractor firm, which is constructing a bridge on River Zuari.

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) MLA Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar pointed out that a question cannot be postponed once a reply is given on the floor of the House.

Industries Minister Vishwajit Rane provided a written reply, but sought the postponement of the question seeking more time to answer it in detail. This triggered noisy scenes on the floor of the House with Khaunte questioning the minister under which rule he could postpone the question, which was tabled.

As the Speaker pointed out that the minister has a right to postpone a question in public interest, the Opposition benches insisted on knowing what was the public interest involved in postponing the question. Initially, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes. However, as the Opposition continued with their protest, he further adjourned the House till 12.30 pm due to which the Question Hour was wiped out without discussing a single question.

Later, addressing the media, the leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat said that it was the first incident in the history of Goa legislative assembly wherein questions were postponed after the replies were circulated.

Sardesai said it was a murder of democracy, as the government has violated the rules of the conduct of business of the state legislative assembly.

Khaunte pointed out that the coal block was allocated to GIDC and the consultant has been appointed by the public private partnership cell on nomination. “How can the PPP cell, which is under the finance department, appoint the consultant on behalf of GIDC?” questioned the Porvorim MLA. The Opposition also warned that they would resort to legal course of action if the government failed to scrap the appointment of consultant aXYKno Capital Service Private Ltd.

Senior Congress MLA Pratapsingh Rane said Mhadei is the lifeline of Goa and the government cannot take arbitrary decisions, which can lead to the destruction of ecology of the region. “The government has to clarify to the people of Goa on the Mhadei water dispute issue,” Rane stressed.

The post Ruckus in House over postponement of questions appeared first on The Navhind Times.