Upset, Congress MLA walks out of Himachal Assembly

Shimla : Upset over not getting an opportunity to raise issues during Question Hour in the ongoing Assembly session, a Congress legislator walked out of the house on Friday, the last day of the session.

Though Jagat Singh Negi's colleagues from the opposition Congress supported him in the house, they preferred not to accompany him when he walked out.

Negi, a former Deputy Speaker, claimed that Speaker Rajeev Bindal was not impartial and was not giving opposition members enough opportunities to take up their issues.

"I gave notice to ask 21 questions, and not even a single one was listed for discussion during this session that saw seven sittings," he said.

Claiming fairness in the conduct of the house, Speaker Bindal said that on Friday, he allotted at least 40 minutes to three postponed questions raised by the opposition.

Bindal said that the house granted permission to hold a debate under Rule 61 five times this year, as compared with none between 2014 and 2017 under it. On two occasions, the debate was held under this rule in 2013.

Similarly, maximum permissions were granted this year to hold a debate under Rules 62, 63 and 101 in six years.

Not convinced, Negi walked out in protest. Other Congress legislators stood up and initially planned to also walk out to express solidarity with Negi, but later preferred to stay back.