Haryana Vidhan Sabha: Now, draw to decide speakers in zero hour

Geetanjali Gayatri

Chandigarh, March 3

The Haryana Vidhan Sabha will resort to the “draw of lots” model to decide the names of members who will be allowed to speak during the zero hour, beginning tomorrow.

With a tug of war always on between the treasury benches and those of the Opposition on the time given to members to speak during the zero hour, it was decided that a draw was a fair way to choose the speakers for any given day.

Right after the question hour concluded during the ongoing Budget Session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, here today, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the three-minute time that is fixed for each member to speak during the zero hour was just not enough and the allotted time should be increased.

Sidelights

• During the discussion on the conduct of the zero hour, LoP Bhupinder Singh Hooda missed no opportunity to crack a joke.
• On Anil Vij asking the Speaker not to allow a zero hour, Hooda said, “He forgets he is in the government. He used to be standing when he was in the Opposition and continues to do so even now.”
• On the three-minute slot, he said, “Our MLA Mohd Ilyas says it takes three minutes to heat up the engine to speak. By the time you get into the mode, the time is over.”

He found support from the Opposition benches even as Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said the time limit could not be extended since all members had to be accommodated. He suggested that a draw of lots be held every morning to decide the names of members who would speak in the zero hour.

Amid strong protests by Health Minister Anil Vij who advocated disallowing the zero hour since it does not find mention anywhere, the Speaker said it was up to the present dispensation to change for the better.

However, an unconvinced Vij continued to insist. Pointing out at Congress MLAs, he said, “When they were in the government, they would throw me out of the House even when I had not uttered a word and was occupying my seat. We were in the Opposition then. Now, they are in the Opposition and they are suddenly remembering conventions. Where is the provision of a zero hour mentioned? Don’t be taken in by their sweet talk.”

INLD’s Abhay Chautala seconded Vij’s statement and said they would come to his rescue and did not allow marshals to take him away.

While Congress MLA Kiran Choudhary said any member who had spoken once should not be allowed to participate in the draw, Independent MLA Balraj Kundu suggested that for every one MLA from the treasury benches, two MLAs from the Opposition should be allowed to speak.

Finally, the Speaker said a draw of lots would be conducted every morning while the session was on. “Ten slips will be drawn and those members can speak on anything for six minutes allotted to them,” he announced.