Opposition stages two walk-outs

CHANDIGARH, July 22: The Haryana Assembly today witnessed two walk-outs by the opposition members after Speaker Chattar Singh Chauhan dis...

CHANDIGARH, July 22: The Haryana Assembly today witnessed two walk-outs by the opposition members after Speaker Chattar Singh Chauhan disallowed supplementaries to a question on implementation of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission and an adjournment motion notice on traders agitation in Karnal.

The first walk-out was staged by the MLAs of the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) and the Congress during the question hour after the Speaker disallowed supplementary questions relating to revision of pay scales for the employees of corporations, boards and secretariat. The question on the implementation of the pay

commission report was given notice of by Sampat Singh of HLD(R), who wanted to know if the government had implemented the recommendations in toto or not.

However, a verbal duel between the MLAs belonging to the ruling and the opposition parties started after Chief Minister Bansi Lal said the government had implemented the pay commission recommendations on the pattern of the Union government. The government had set up a committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary to look into anomalies, he added. But the opposition members, led by Sampat Singh and Ajay Singh (Congress), asked for more information on allowances and revision of wages for staff of corporations, boards and secretariat, insisting that they were not satisfied with the reply of the government.

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The opposition members wanted to ask further supplementaries on the issue but the permission was denied. The Speaker named Ajay Singh after he continued to press his supplementaries. Immediately, the named member left the house. The Haryana Lok Dal and Congress members again pleaded for permission to ask more supplementaries. When the Speaker did not accede to their pleadings, members belong to the Haryana Lok Dal and the Congress walked out from the House in protest against the ruling.

The HLD members staged the second walk-out during the zero hour after the Speaker disallowed an adjournment motion notice tabled by leader of opposition Om Prakash Chautala on the issue of allotment of plots to traders in New Anaj Mandi at Karnal and their on-going hunger strike in the connection. The walk-out was in protest against the ruling of the Speaker. During both the walk-outs the opposition members went till the exit doors and returned to their seats within minutes.

Earlier, during the question hour, Prohibition Minister, Seth Siri Kishan Dass said that the government had seized 14.41 lakh bottles of English wine, country liquor and beer and 22.36 lakh pouches of country liquor during prohibition. These bottles and pouches could not be disposed off as they were case property, he said in his reply to a question raised by Dhirpal Singh (HLD). They would be disposed off as per the directions of the court, he added.