With 26 questions asked by MLAs on day two of the Delhi Assembly session going unanswered, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Tuesday referred the matter to the Privileges Committee.
Mr. Goel said five starred questions and 21 unstarred questions, all pertaining to the municipal corporations of Delhi, had not been answered by the Urban Development Department, through which the civic bodies’ answers are supposed to be received in the House.
The Speaker added that UD Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the Department had failed to provide the answers despite his directions to the Principal Secretary (UD). Mr. Jain also said that the Commissioners of the municipal corporations did not attend meetings held in connection with the questions.
Like he has done in the past with regard to unanswered questions, the Speaker directed the Privileges Committee to look into the matter as a “priority” as it involved the dignity of the House. He also asked the UD Minister to give a detailed written reply about his discussions with officers regarding these questions by Friday.
Earlier during the proceedings, several MLAs raised concerns about the way questions were answered. Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Ministers should look into the answers, since many of the replies were incomplete or unsatisfactory.
Gupta marshalled out
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta was marshalled out after making a statement that was expunged from the record. Then, the BJP MLAs protested outside the House.
Later, Mr. Gupta said in a statement that the BJP was trying to raise the issue of the Delhi government’s “unauthorised hiring of 1,000 buses” and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot “mentally torturing” Transport Secretary Varsha Joshi for not signing the proposal.