Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the principal secretary (education) has refused to answer questions on the number of vacancies in Delhi government schools, stating that the matter comes under services, which is a reserved subject. Express archive Photo
The secretaries of education, revenue and power departments have been summoned to the Delhi Assembly on Thursday over them not responding to questions posed by MLAs. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel likened the situation to a state of “undeclared emergency”.
The issue was also referred to the Questions and Reference Committee of the House, which is already looking into similar refusals during the last session. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the principal secretary (education) has refused to answer questions on the number of vacancies in Delhi government schools, stating that the matter comes under services, which is a reserved subject.
According to advocate Ashok Aggarwal, a petitioner in a case related to vacancies, the number of vacancies of permanent teachers in government schools in Delhi stands at 28,000. Lt Governor Anil Baijal had communicated to the Assembly in March that it cannot admit questions on reserved subjects, including law and order, services and land.
During the day’s proceedings, it emerged that around nine questions, which include both starred and unstarred, on issues ranging from vacancies in schools to revenue and Wi-Fi went unanswered. Some of the questions were asked by BJP MLAs. One starred question by Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj was on allegations of fraud pertaining to revenue records between 1997 to 2005.
“At whose directions is the L-G doing such injustice with the people of Delhi? This is undeclared emergency,” Goel said. Several AAP MLAs rushed to the well of the House over the issue, prompting Goel to adjourn proceedings for 15 minutes.
During the Budget session of the Assembly, replies to 36 questions were not provided by departments, including Vigilance, Services, Land and Building, on the pretext of them being reserved subjects, Goel said. All the unanswered questions were referred to the committee on privileges and the questions and reference committee of the House.