New Delhi:Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly Rakhi Birla on Wednesday raised objection to LG VK Saxena's comment regarding the convening of the two-day session saying his observations are 'not correct.'
Speaking at the Delhi Assembly, Birla pointed out that Saxena has written a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in which the LG has expressed his objections to the two-day session, saying rules on it were not being followed.
The deputy speaker said that Saxena's observations were 'not correct' since the session that commenced on Wednesday was in continuation of the previous session convened in April. Earlier, Saxena had also spoken about 'grave procedural lapses' in the session convened in April. The proceedings were called after Kejriwal received summons from the CBI for questioning him in connection with the excise policy case.
Birla also said that the Speaker has the power under the rules to convene the session anytime even after the assembly is adjourned sine die. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri supported Saxena's observations following which a war of words erupted between him and Birla.
The deputy speaker said that the assembly was not a 'political arena' but a place to raise issues by MLAs regarding their constituencies. Earlier on Thursday, BJP legislators met Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and complained against 'anomalies' in the two-day Delhi Assembly session called by the Kejriwal government.
The Bidhuri -led delegation of Delhi BJP MLAs, including state president Virendra Sachdeva, met Saxena at the Raj Niwas and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention in the matter. "This delegation of BJP MLAs wishes to draw your attention towards the calling of repeated sessions of Delhi assembly by Delhi government and Speaker of the Assembly without following any constitutional procedure," read a copy of the memorandum.
The legislators said it was "shocking" that only a two-day long Monsoon session has been called, that too without following the constitutional requirement of giving a 15-day notice to MLAs so that they can prepare and submit their questions. The MLAs also alleged that at least the last 10 sessions of the Assembly were called on "very short notice" and discussed issues that were not even related to the national capital. The memorandum added that the MLAs were denied their right to ask questions in the House by keeping Question Hour out of the agenda. No immediate reaction was available from the Assembly or the ruling AAP over the allegations of the BJP legislators.
