Shimla, Aug 20 (IANS) Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday that the role of the Opposition would be constructive in the Monsoon session starting on Friday.
“If our point is taken seriously then we will support it and if there is an attempt to postpone the matter then the Opposition will become the voice of the people inside and outside the House and force the government to accept its point,” LoP Thakur told the media here after attending the all-party meeting.
He said the state government should understand the “seriousness of the House and if the Chief Minister and his Ministers say the right thing then their point will be heard and if any attempt is made to suppress the voice of democracy then the Opposition will give a befitting reply”.
He added that the Opposition “always strives to strengthen democracy. We will make every effort to ensure that the public’s voice is effectively raised. Many things depend on the government’s behaviour. We will not abandon issues of public interest. For some time now, the government has been filing cases against public representatives out of vindictiveness, which is not a healthy practice. If the cases are serious, they should be investigated. But if you want to suppress the voice of the Opposition, we will not allow that to happen”.
The BJP leader said the state government’s focus should have been on development, but unfortunately, they have only engaged in lockdowns.
He added that he raised an issue with the Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania at the all-party meeting that in the past four years, whenever an Opposition member “asks a question, they are told that information is being collected, which is against the dignity of the House. Officials pass on information to the government, but government Ministers and the Chief Minister (Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu) deliberately claim that information is being collected. Some department heads deliberately conceal information. We are forced to use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to present the same information to the House. This matter must be taken seriously”.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Pathania told the media that the all-party meeting was called to ensure the smooth conduct of the upcoming Monsoon session.
“Such meetings are considered crucial prior to the commencement of the session,” he said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania were present at the meeting.
The Speaker appealed to all lawmakers from both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP for their full cooperation in the functioning of the House.
Pathania added that the productivity of the 14th Legislative Assembly prior to this Monsoon session has averaged between 90 and 132 per cent, the highest in the country.
–IANS
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