MLAs Fail to Fulfill the Quota of Queries!

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: A big question mark is hanging over the responsibility and accountability of people’s representatives towards those who they represent.

The six-day summer session of the State Assembly that concluded on Thursday had 336 questions from the MLAs – 100 starred and 236 unstarred ones. This is 14 questions short of the total quota of 350. And this shortage of questions from the MLAs is on unstarred queries. According to rules, an Assembly session has 20 starred questions and 50 unstarred questions i.e. 70 questions a day. In the just-concluded six-day session, while there was question-answer in five days, one day was meant for Speaker’s initiative. Thus, the MLAs had the scope of raising as many as 350 questions in the five days.

Such a shortage of questions in the Assembly session does not go well with conscious circles in the State. They are not ready to take it as a small issue. The MLAs of the State House not being able to fulfill the quota of questions to be raised in the House is something not acceptable to this circle. They want to say that the primary duty of people’s representatives is to raise people’s problems on the floor of the Assembly to seek their viable solution. This apart, the MLAs get their salaries and other perks from the taxpayers’ money. The shortage of questions gives rise to another question: is there a dearth of people’s problems in the State? The Assembly is such a democratic institution where any problem or issue can be discussed in detail, seeking their solution. However, the MLAs of the State, it seems, are reluctant to avail the facilities under their disposal for the wellbeing of the State and its people.

The issue is viewed with more concern because this is becoming a trend in the State Assembly nowadays. In the last 14-day Budget session in the State Assembly, the quota of eight starred and as many as 164 unstarred questions could not be fulfilled due to lack of questions from the MLAs. What does is a smack of? Shouldn’t there be a mechanism to raise such issues for public welfare?

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