SHIMLA, Aug 13:
The opposition Congress today gave a notice to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly secretary seeking the removal of Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar, saying his neutrality in conducting House proceedings was “doubtful”
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who is also the Leader of the House, told the state assembly that the notice given by the Congress is not sustainable as per rules as it was not given by the required one-third strength of the House.
Moreover, the requirement of giving a 14-day notice for moving a resolution seeking the speaker’s removal was not fulfilled, he added. So, the Congress notice is not sustainable on technical grounds, he said. Earlier Parliamentary Minister Suresh Bhardwaj moved a resolution for rejecting the notice in the House. At this, the Speaker presented it before the House.
Speaking on the motion, the lone CPM MLA Rakesh Singha stated that whatever happened in the last two-three days in the House is not good. You are an elected speaker, find out some middle way. I have all respect for you chair. I don’t want to mention the things that led to the situation reaching this stage, he said.
Earlier all the 19 Congress legislators gave a written notice to the Assembly secretary for removal of the Speaker from office under rule 274(1) Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Himachal Pradesh Legislatively. The Congress legislators also boycotted the proceedings of the House in protest on the last day of the Monsoon session on Friday.
The Congress legislators stated in the notice “The Hon’ble speaker Shri Vipin Singh Parmar has failed to uphold the high dignity of this August House and his office in conducting the business of the house. The speaker has been deliberately failing to uphold the rights and privileges of opposition members and of the house.”
“His neutrality in conducting the businesses of the house is doubtful and most wanting”, they charged
The Congress legislators said the Speaker is expected to be neutral and not to take sides on political consideration.
“It has been repeatedly seen that the Hon’ble Speaker claims affiliation to particular ideology while presiding over the House which is against the spirit of the Constitution,” they charged
The Speaker, while presiding over the House, stated that he is not bound to follow the ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly’, they alleged.
“Further the speaker is not being impartial in dealing with the notices of opposition members. The notices of opposition members under various rules for raising issues hardly find place in the list of business. He gives undue advantage to members of the ruling party in the listing of business before the House by floating rules,” they charged.
“We, the opposition members have therefore, no faith left in the office of present speaker and to uphold the dignity of the August House, democratic values and to protect the constitutional rights and privileges of the members of legislative assembly and for conducting the business of the House as per the rules, the speaker should be immediately removed from the office”, they added. (PTI)
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