4-Day UP Assembly Session begins today: Opp gears up for Sambhal & Bahraich, demands extension of winter session

“When the government does not listen to the issues of the public, the opposition has to say it forcefully. The session should continue for as many days as possible but they run it at their own convenience. There is a rule that session should at least run for a minimum of 90 days a year, but this does not happen,” said Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and senior SP leader Mata Prasad Pandey.

Asked about the issues that his party or the opposition would raise during the session, he said, “There are issues of public interest that we will raise. Most importantly, there have been communal incidents, such as Sambhal and Bahraich. There are issues of farmers, electricity, price rise etc. We will try to attract the attention of the government towards all these.”

Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhna Mishra said after the all-party meeting, “In a state with a population of nearly 25 crore, if an Assembly session is merely for four days, one can understand the seriousness of the government about the issues of the public. What is the point of a session? It is to discuss important issues related to our constituencies and the state such as law and order, unemployment, issues of farmers, education, health. Thus, we have requested to increase the duration of the session.”

Mishra also said, “This was the demand of the entire opposition during the all-party meeting. We also wanted to ask about the reasons for bringing the supplementary demands, when there are many departments that have failed to utitilise even their 30 per cent of the annual budget so far.”

The Congress has already announced that it would gherao the Vidhan Sabha on December 18. “When the government will not allow discussion inside the House, we will have no choice but to raise the issues on the streets,” added Mishra.

Speaker Satish Mahana, who convened the all-party meet, urged all party leaders to cooperate in the smooth running of the session. Mahana said that as the country’s largest Vidhan Sabha, the proceedings of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly also “present a standard” for Vidhan Sabhas across the country. He also requested all the party leaders to put forward their views in the House under “parliamentary decorum.”

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasised that all parties would get opportunities to present their views and expressed hope that in the coming session too, there would be meaningful discussions on issues related to the public.

Adityanath said that the government would participate in the discussions with a “positive mindset and would try to find solutions to the issues.”