Rejection of Congress' notices sparks walkout in Haryana Vidhan Sabha

The Congress today staged a walkout in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha to protest Speaker Harvinder Kalyan’s decision to reject the party’s notices on adjournment and calling attention discussions, while allowing a privilege motion moved by BJP MLA Shakti Rani Sharma against Congress MLA Indu Raj Narwal.

The privilege motion was moved during zero hour on the last day of the winter session by Shakti Rani Sharma, BJP MLA from Kalka, against Narwal over remarks made by him on December 19 on the alleged “sale of votes for money” during the Rajya Sabha elections. Narwal had alleged that INLD leader and former MLA Abhay Chautala had “dipped his hands in former Union minister Venod Sharma’s pockets and sold votes for crores”.

Shakti Rani Sharma, wife of Venod Sharma, termed the allegations “baseless” and moved the privilege motion against the Congress MLA for referring to a person who was not present in the House. The Speaker put the motion to vote, following which more than 15 MLAs, mostly from the ruling benches, stood up in its support. Speaker Kalyan then allowed the motion and referred it to the Privileges Committee for “examination and investigation”.

Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress MLAs opposed the motion, while Narwal sought to clarify his statement. However, the Speaker ruled that no discussion would be allowed on the issue.

Soon after, Hooda sought clarification from the Speaker on the fate of the adjournment motions, short-duration discussions and calling attention notices submitted by Congress MLAs. Hooda maintained that not a single notice raised by the Opposition had been admitted.

Responding to this, Speaker Kalyan said the calling attention notices were considered but not accepted. “The no-confidence motion brought by the party covered all the issues. That is why none of the notices were accepted,” he said.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Congress MLAs led by Hooda staged a walkout from the House.

Later, several MLAs raised constituency-specific demands during zero hour. Congress MLA Mamman Khan pointed out that while MLAs flagged issues during zero hour, the government rarely responded to them. Narwal demanded that Gohana be declared a district, while Shakuntala Khatak said that 35 of the 40 villages in her constituency were waterlogged and no compensation had been provided.

Responding, Revenue Minister Vipul Goel said Rs 6 crore had been released in Rohtak district and denied any pick-and-choose policy. “We are willing to re-examine the applications,” he added.

Congress MLA Aditya Surjewala said MNREGA had “been murdered”, claiming that while nearly 8 lakh workers were registered under the scheme, only 2,000 families had received 100 days of work. Aftab Ahmed said several sarpanches had resigned, while Pooja Chaudhry alleged that failure to desilt the Markanda, Tangri and Begna rivers had led to flooding.

BJP MLAs Ram Kumar Gautam and Bimla Chaudhry, meanwhile, appreciated the fast-tracking of development works under the present government.

Speaking to mediapersons in the press gallery later, Venod Sharma said the privilege motion had been moved over remarks made in the House. “It seems the MLA does not understand the working of the Assembly where you cannot comment on somebody who is not present in the House. Whatever he said is baseless and false, and the decision now lies with the committee,” he said.

Calling for restraint, Sharma said, “Restraint should be maintained and the Congress should keep its MLAs in check.”