Engage in politics of development, not caste and creed: CM Himanta to MLAs

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Noisy scenes were witnessed today in the Assam Assembly during Question Hour over the Chief Minister's visit to a Congress MLA's house yesterday.

Amidst all the chaos in the House, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that MLAs should engage in the politics of development and not politics over caste and creed. "MLAs must compete to do better work than each other. Even people want to see how active the representatives whom they have elected are," he said.

The government has decided that all schemes will be sanctioned by August 31 so that after the rainy season work can begin, said the Chief Minister. He, therefore, appealed to all MLAs to submit the schemes by August 15.

Meanwhile, Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLAs created uproar in the House over the Chief Minister's visit to a Congress MLA's house on Sunday when he had gone to Raha for official work. The Opposition MLAs alleged that as the Rajya Sabha polls were drawing near, the Chief Minister had gone to the Congress MLA's house to lure him into voting for the candidates of the BJP-AGP-UPPL alliance. This, they said, was not a good sign for democracy. The Opposition MLAs protested with placards and move to the Well of the House. Their protest continued for around 35 minutes while the Question Hour was in session. The MLAs then staged a walk-out.

After the Question Hour, the Chief Minister, while trying to clear his stand, said that as the Chief Minister of the State, he could visit all MLAs. Addressing the Speaker, Chief Minister Sarma said, "If there is any rule that forbids me from meeting MLAs of the Opposition then kindly tell me."

In reply, the Speaker said, "There is no such rule. You can go and meet any MLA." He added, "It is entirely the decision of the MLAs who they cast their vote for in the Rajya Sabha election. But one can campaign for the polls by visiting the MLAs in their houses. There is no restriction on that. I had given the members of the Opposition a scope to put forth their grievance in the House so that they could discuss it and end the matter. However, they chose to create chaos over the issue."

Chief Minister Sarma then said, "I have asked the Rajya Sabha candidates of our alliance to appeal to all Opposition MLAs for their votes. Who they vote for is entirely up to them. In the House, MLAs should talk about development and not create any unruly situation.

"The government is considering rewarding the MLA who performs best by allotting more funds for his constituency so that he can undertake more development works. I appeal to all MLAs to compete among themselves to perform better and deliver better development results."

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