Himachal confidential

CM scuttles Opposition walkout
After Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal finished his reply to the budget debate on Friday,Leader of Opposition Vidya Stokes rose and said she was not satisfied with the reply. To this,the CM asked her to sit down and listen to what he wanted to further clarify on the hike in bus fares in the state. As soon as he finished,the speaker announced that the proceedings of the house were over for the day. Surprised,Opposition members said they would walk out in protest. Talking to the media later,a beaming Dhumal said according to the proceedings the ‘walkout’ was not recorded as an official one.

Times are changing
Congress MLA Gangu Ram Musafir,popularly known as a soft-spoken politician,stunned everyone in the Vidhan Sabha with his aggressive speech during the debate on the State Budget 2010-11. He tried to nail the Dhumal government for alleged fiscal indiscipline and spared neither the Cabinet ministers nor BJP legislators who tried to intervene. Later,during lunch,one of the BJP MLAs asked him in a lighter vein: “Were you trying to settle score with the chief minister who had come down heavily on you after your speech on the governor’s address.” Musafir replied: “Times are changing and accordingly we should adapt to the new ways of articulation and expression.”

Remarkable remarks
VIDHAN Sabha Speaker Tulsi Ram made a few memorable observations during the ongoing Vidhan Sabha session. When Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur talked of revenue settlement in his home district of Mandi,Tulsi Ram said: “Shouldn’t you ask about Chamba (the speaker’s home district) also? The revenue settlement work is lagging there as well.” On another occasion,he warned the House members against starting a new “business” of sharing the time allotted to them to present their arguments during the budget debate. When Kaul Singh Thakur sought more time to finish his speech during the debate,another Congress MLA Nikhil Rajaur pleaded that the time allotted to him be given to Kaul Singh,which was allowed. As the house re-assembled after lunch,the Speaker said: “Let me make one thing clear. There is no provision of lending or borrowing time among members and I ask you all to refrain from it. Otherwise,this new business will become a norm in the house.”