The Hindu : New Delhi News : Water Bill rejection motivated: Sheila

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 04, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Water Bill rejection motivated: Sheila

Sujay Mehdudia

Her stand untenable, say Assembly officials

NEW DELHI: Questioning the manner in which the proceedings of the Select Committee on the Delhi Water Board (Amendment) Bill, 2005, were conducted on Thursday, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday termed the rejection of the Bill as "unethical and motivated", aimed at embarrassing the Government in a pre-meditated manner.

In a letter to Delhi Assembly Speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh, a copy of which was also marked to Select Committee chairman Ram Babu Sharma, the Chief Minister said that in view of the unethical action of the Select Committee members, she wished to register her protest on the conduct of proceedings. Stating that it was with a deep sense of anguish that she wanted to bring to the notice of the Speaker the way the proceedings of the Committee on Delhi Water Board (Amendment) Bill 2005 were held on Thursday, the Chief Minister stated that she had reached the Old Secretariat Complex of Vidhan Sabha around 3-45 p.m. to take part in the meeting along with officers of the Delhi Jal Board.

However, at around 4 p.m. she was informed by the Assembly Secretariat that only two MLAs had turned up for the meeting and she decided to wait for others to come. At around 4-15 p.m., the Chief Minister said she was told that the meeting had begun and she should reach immediately. However, within a few minutes, the Joint Secretary (Urban Development) Manoj Kumar informed her that the meeting had unanimously rejected the Bill. "It is strange that when a message was sent for me to attend the meeting, the Bill was rejected in haste without following the procedure prescribed in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Legislative Assembly of Delhi and without even waiting for me to attend the meeting."

However, sources in the Assembly Secretariat informed that Ms. Dikshit had been sent an advance notice for attending the proceedings of the Select Committee. Further they stated that Ms. Dikshit was attending the meeting in the capacity as an MLA and not as the Chief Minister or the chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board and no protocol required that she be informed about the minute to minute details of the happenings in the committee room. It is another matter that Ms. Dikshit decided to wait in her Chamber at the Old Secretariat instead of the Committee Room where all members had gathered and therefore missed the meeting by her own poor coordination. "Ms. Dikshit kept sitting in her office in the Vidhan Sabha but did not bother to reach the Committee Room. Many of the MLAs and officials felt that she had come but was not attending the meeting under protest and therefore she could not have been forced to reach the meeting venue," a senior official remarked.

As far as the proceedings of the Committee are concerned, officials said all rules and regulations had been followed in holding the meeting. There had been no violation of the law or the rules as being claimed by the Chief Minister and proper procedure had been followed in convening the meeting, conducting it and finally wrapping it up. They said it was unfortunate that Ms. Dikshit was trying to drag the Speaker, officials and her own party MLAs into controversy

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section