News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand Assembly

  • In BJP ruled Uttarakhand, Assembly passes anti-conversion & women’s reservation bill

    By Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: On the second day of the supplementary budget session, two important bills were passed by voice vote in the Uttarakhand Assembly. 

    After the passage of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2022, a provision has been made for a strict law regarding religious conversion in the state. Apart from this, the Uttarakhand Public Service (Horizontal Reservation of Women) Bill 2022 will once again implement the system of 30 percent horizontal reservation for women in the state.

    The state government had a few days ago decided to strengthen the anti-conversion law, which provided for a 10-year jail term, declaring forced conversion a cognizable offence. With the passage of these bills in the Assembly on Wednesday, a notification to implement them in the state will be issued soon.

    Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said,  “Uttarakhand is devbhoomi, things like conversion are very fatal for us, so the government had decided that strict laws should be made to ban religious conversion in the state”. He said that it is the endeavour of the state government to implement this law in the state with full determination.

    Regarding the Horizontal Reservation Bill for women in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Dhami said, “The women of the state have a huge contribution in the creation of Uttarakhand and the government had already decided that they should get the benefit of this horizontal reservation while respecting the mother-power in this state with heterogeneous geographical conditions”.

    DEHRADUN: On the second day of the supplementary budget session, two important bills were passed by voice vote in the Uttarakhand Assembly. 

    After the passage of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2022, a provision has been made for a strict law regarding religious conversion in the state. Apart from this, the Uttarakhand Public Service (Horizontal Reservation of Women) Bill 2022 will once again implement the system of 30 percent horizontal reservation for women in the state.

    The state government had a few days ago decided to strengthen the anti-conversion law, which provided for a 10-year jail term, declaring forced conversion a cognizable offence. With the passage of these bills in the Assembly on Wednesday, a notification to implement them in the state will be issued soon.

    Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said,  “Uttarakhand is devbhoomi, things like conversion are very fatal for us, so the government had decided that strict laws should be made to ban religious conversion in the state”. He said that it is the endeavour of the state government to implement this law in the state with full determination.

    Regarding the Horizontal Reservation Bill for women in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Dhami said, “The women of the state have a huge contribution in the creation of Uttarakhand and the government had already decided that they should get the benefit of this horizontal reservation while respecting the mother-power in this state with heterogeneous geographical conditions”.

  • Ritu Khanduri becomes first woman speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: BJP MLA Ritu Khanduri, the daughter of former chief minister BC Khanduri, was elected unopposed as the first woman speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly on Saturday. The announcement about her election was made by pro-tem speaker Banshidhar Bhagat.

    Her election to the post was a foregone conclusion as the main opposition Congress chose to stay out of contest. Ritu Khanduri won from Kotdwar by defeating former minister SS Negi by more than 3,000 votes.

    She had won her maiden assembly election from the Yamkeshwar constituency in 2017. Before taking a plunge into politics, she taught at a private university in Noida for several years.

    In her maiden address to MLAs soon after her election, Khanduri exhorted first-time legislators to utilise five years of their tenure in learning about legislative procedures and participate enthusiastically in debates in the House on matters of public interest.

    Congratulating her, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami dwelt on her academic achievements and said her assumption of office as the first woman speaker of the state was an acknowledgement of the valuable contribution made by women in Uttarakhand’s movement for statehood.

    “It is a historic day for us. We got our first woman speaker in you today. It is an honour for the entire women population of the state who played a stellar role in the formation of Uttarakhand,” Dhami said.

    Opposition members Pritam Singh and Yashpal Arya also congratulated her, saying they were confident she would carry forward her father’s legacy of probity in public life and lay the foundations of healthy legislative practices.

    Singh also expressed hope that under her stewardship, the House will pass a resolution granting 33 per cent reservation to women in the state legislature.

  • Banshidhar Bhagat appointed protem speaker of U’khand Assembly 

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: Senior BJP MLA Banshidhar Bhagat was on Monday appointed as the protem speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly.

    A notification on Bhagat’s appointment as the protem speaker was issued by Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh.

    A seven-time MLA, Bhagat won from the Kaladhungi seat in the just concluded state polls. He will function as the protem speaker until a speaker is elected. The newly elected members of the state Assembly will be sworn in by Bhagat.

    Bhagat became an MLA for the first time in 1991 when he was elected from Nainital in undivided Uttar Pradesh. He was elected from Nainital again in 1993 and 1996, and became a state minister. He was also a minister in the interim Uttarakhand government in 2000.

    In 2007, Bhagat was elected to the Uttarakhand Assembly from Haldwani. He has been the MLA from Kaladhungi since 2012.

  • Uttarakhand: Congress MLA from Purola Rajkumar joins BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress MLA Rajkumar, a Dalit leader who represents Purola constituency in the Uttarakhand assembly, joined the BJP on Sunday with the saffron party asserting this is a big indication of its victory in the coming polls in the state.

    Joining the BJP in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state party president Madan Kaushik and Rajya Sabha MP from the state Anil Baluni, Rajkumar lauded the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttarakhand for ushering in infrastructure development like all-weather roads.

    He also heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and claimed that while the Congress made Dalits dependent on doles the BJP has worked to make them self-reliant. Rajkumar, who was in the BJP earlier too, praised the Modi government for providing free grains to the poor following the COVID-19 outbreak and taking other welfare measures.

    Recently, independent MLA Pritam Singh Panwar had also joined the BJP as the party boosts its firepower to take on the Congress in the assembly polls in the hilly state, slated for early next year. Pradhan praised Rajkumar as a people’s leader, and said his joining the BJP is a big indication of the party’s win in the polls.

    He said that under Modi and Dhami, the BJP will win and the state will have a “double-engine” government. Baluni said that Rajkumar was a big leader.

    Rajkumar also lauded Baluni for his work to boost development in the hill state, and said he was also making effort in this regard. Dhami said the MLA was a grassroots leader whose induction will help the BJP.

  • Monsoon Session: Uttarakhand Assembly members to be seated maintaining social distancing

    By ANI

    DEHRADUN: During the Monsoon session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly that is scheduled to begin from Monday, members would be seated in two groups to maintain social distancing, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to officials.

    After reviewing the seating plan, the state government said that arrangements for seating of 40 members have been done in the main pavilion of the House and the remaining 31 legislators of the 71 member house will be seated in room number 107.

    However, irrespective of where they sit, the members will be considered a part of the state Assembly despite their presence in different rooms.

    According to Assembly Secretary, the decision of splitting the Assembly into two groups has been taken as the main hall of the House lacks space to maintain social distancing protocol put in place due to the ongoing pandemic. 

  • Pritam Singh takes charge as Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: Former Uttarakhand Congress president Pritam Singh on Monday took charge as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly. He succeeds Indira Hridayesh who died last month. Soon after taking charge, Singh said Congress is all set to return to power in 2022.

    “People are disappointed with the so called double engine government. They are looking for change. They gave BJP a powerful mandate in 2017. Still the party failed to give them a stable government. Three chief ministers in four-and-a-half years of whom one had to step down in just four months. The two Rawats (Trivendra and Tirath) have ruined the state,” Singh who represents Chakrata seat in the State Assembly told reporters.

    Development has been the biggest casualty of this political instability, he said adding that the economy lies in shambles and the prices have soared like never before. Accusing the state government of playing into the hands of the land and mining mafia, he said Congress alone can provide a transparent and corruption-free government to the people of the state.

    When asked who will be the party’s chief ministerial face in the 2022 assembly polls, Singh said there is no dearth of capable people in the party and whoever is selected for the job by the party high command after the polls will have the support and backing of everyone.

    Singh was replaced recently as Uttarakhand PCC president by Ganesh Godiyal and appointed as Leader of Opposition in the State assembly in a major organisational rejig ahead of next year’s assembly polls.

  • Uttarakhand: Congress stages walkout from assembly over sugarcane farmers’ problems

    By PTI
    GAIRSAIN: The Congress on Friday staged a walkout from the Uttarakhand Assembly over problems being faced by sugarcane growers in the state due to the non-announcement of the minimum support price (MSP) for the cash crop.

    Congress MLA Qazi Nizamuddin became emotional while raising the issue in the assembly during the Zero Hour.

    “Sugarcane growers have contributed immensely to the development of the state and their problems should be solved on priority,” Nizamuddin said in a voice choked with emotion.

    Sharing his concern, Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh said during ND Tiwari’s tenure, the MSP for sugarcane used to be announced even before its crop was ready in the fields.”What is the problem in announcing the MSP for sugarcane?” she asked.

    “Qazi Nizamuddin’s concern is genuine. People of his constituency have expectations from him,” she said.

    The government needs to be more sensitive to the problem of farmers, she said.

    In his reply on behalf of the government, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Kaushik said Uttarakhand is not just among five states where sugarcane MSP is announced every year but it also pays the highest MSP for sugarcane.

    However, not satisfied with the minister’s reply, the Congress members staged a walkout from the assembly.

  • Uttarakhand budget session: Opposition calls Trivendra led government ‘General Dyre’s government’

    Express News Service
    Dehradun: Second day of the budget session of Uttarakhand legislative assembly witnessed hot exchange between state government and the opposition. 

    The opposition on Tuesday called BJP government of the state ‘General Dyer’s government’ alleging the government brutalizing own people. 

    Congress MLA Pritam Singh raised the issue by moving a motion on lathi charge incident on Monday. 

    “The police acting on the orders of this government attacked the women and elderly which mirrored General Dyer of the British rule who ordered to open fire on the freedom fighters at Jallianwala Bagh. This government doesn’t believe in democracy,” said Singh. 

    He further said, “The government resorted to high handedness against villagers who were well within their democratic right to hold protest for their demand of widening the 19-km road in their village in Ghat area near Gairsain.”

    Singh also added that the residents of the village have been holding their protest for over 80 days now but the government failed to pay any attention. 

    The opposition MLAs led by Indira Hridayesh, leader of opposition moved into the well of the House demanding an apology from the government over Monday’s incident before staging a walkout and holding a sit-in protest at the entrance of the assembly and raising slogans against the government.

    The opposition also alleged that the government has been doing nothing for the people. 

    “The government is doing nothing to control skyrocketing prices of essential commodities including fuel and food items. The common people of this country are suffering due to steep price rise of petroleum and essential items of daily use including vegetable and pulses. Our neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and even Bhutan is doing better,” added Hridayesh.

    The opposition alleging the government of insulting the motherhood of the hills demanded an apology from the government over the incident.

    The House managed to pass two amendment bills related to a change in a non-government university operating in Uttarakhand and another related to marketing of agricultural produce and livestock. 

  • Uttarakhand assembly condoles deaths in Chamoli disaster

    By PTI
    GAIRSAIN: The Uttarakhand assembly on Tuesday condoled the deaths in the recent avalanche in Chamoli district.

    Soon after the House assembled for the day, Speaker Premchand Aggrawal expressed grief over the loss of lives in the disaster in Raini and Tapovan areas.

    A two-minute silence was observed by the assembly members to pray for the departed souls.

    A deluge in Rishiganga valley on February 7 had caused large-scale loss of lives and damage to property in the area demolishing the 13.2 mw Rishiganga hydel project and damaging the 520 mw Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project.

    The disaster had left 204 people missing out of which 72 bodies have been recovered so far.