MLAs failed to use full scope of Assembly's winter session

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The recently concluded three-day winter session of the Assam Assembly demonstrated a dismal picture on the role and responsibilities of people's representatives. This is despite the fact that a session of the House involves a huge amount of expenditure besides the involvement of a large number of people including the security and other staff of the Assembly as a whole. This is besides the officials in various departments who have to remain busy during the days of Assembly session. The matter assumes even more significance as the State has many burning issues, and the Assembly sessions are meant for the legislators to throw light on such issues facing the masses, and to make the government initiate measures for their solution.

However, it is in this very basic concept that the year's last Assembly session failed to live up to the expectations of the public. It witnessed the very low rate of just 143 questions that were put up by the MLAs as against the quota of 210. As a result, the scope of putting up 67 questions remained to be utilized.

Assembly rules mandate that 70 questions can be raised by the legislators on the floor of the House during a session. Of these, 20 are in the oral mode (technically termed as "starred") while the remaining 50 are in written ("Unstarred") format.

On December 28 – the session's first day — only 18 starred and 20 unstarred questions were raised thereby leaving vacant 32 slots. On December 29, a total of four slots remained vacant as though the quota of 20 starred questions were filled yet only 46 unstarred questions were raised. On the concluding day, the starred quota was filled; but only 19 unstarred questions were raised. Hence, 21 slots remained unfilled on December 30.

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