28-day session ends; promises unfulfilled
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 03 May 2013 13:10 IST
The longest ever session of 28-day sitting that lasted for over one and a half months ended, but without fulfilling the most-awaited announcements.
From Goa’s development point of view, the Investment Policy of the BJP government was announced, but did not see the light of the day till the session ended on 2 May.
The Mickky Pacheco committee report, regarding the politician-drug dealer nexus, was to be tabled on 15 April, but the House remained silent on it.
Similarly, chief minister Manohar Parrikar had assured the House that he would announce on 2 May whom the recruitment scandal - involving former ministers Ravi Naik & Vishwajeet Rane – would be handed over to – the Lokayukta or the Anti Corruption Bureau.
But no announcement was made.
Parrikar also backtracked on his earlier public assurance of amending the Lokayukta act on the lines of Uttarakhand Lokayukta Act.
The draft of the bill was presented to him by Adv Prashant Bhushan on 13 February, much before the Assembly session started on 18 March. But he said he could not find time to go into it.
The bill was crucial, the India Against Corruption had observed, since the Parrikar government came to power on anti-corruption wave and taking measures to end corruption was the first priority.
Instead, Parrikar made amendments to the controversial Lokayukta bill passed in the last Assembly, based on what was suggested by Governor of Goa, who returned the bill for reconsideration.
Besides the Lokayukta bill on the lines of Uttarakhand, the government has also assured to bring in the next session Goa Police bill as well as the Youth Policy.
The major highlight of the session, which actually lasted for seven weeks, was the Goa (Right of Citizens to time-bound deliver of public services) bill, which was passed on the last day.
Most of the other among 14 government bills however were related to the budget proposals, including VAT, stamp duty, infrastructure tax, tax on entry of goods, land revenue code, entertainment tax, motor vehicles tax etc.
The session, which was conducted for 143.28 hours, actually discussed 154 questions from among 1046 starred questions.
There were also 1949 unstarred questions which were replied to in writing by the ministers.
The session took up 25 calling attention motions and 48 zero hour mentions, besides 19 private members, most of which were withdrawn after government assurances.
While ending the session, speaker Rajendra Arlekar told the members of both treasury and opposition benches to be more disciplined and do their home work well in order to have more fruitful discussion in the Assembly.
As usual, unfulfilled assurances. It is like pouring water in a pot kept upside down.
And let us not forget about the Minister/MLAs who drove in their motorcycles without helmets.
Rules do not apply to them.
This reminds me of the famous phrase in Animal Farm by George Orwell - 'All are equal but SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS'!