A day before the Budget Session of state Assembly is set to begin, Governor Ram Naik on Tuesday appealed to all members to maintain dignity during his first address to the House. Naik was speaking to mediapersons after the oath taking ceremony of new state Chief Information Commissioner Jawed Usmani. “The House is meant for discussions and debates and to raise significant issues. Thus, members coming into the Well is not a good sign. Whether members follow the set tradition or set a new new in the assembly will be clear only on Wednesday,” he said. Cabinet minister Azam Khan, who had recently created a controversy by writing to Naik alleging that minority communities - mainly Muslims - were scared of his comments, attended the ceremony but skipped the Governor’s high-tea. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav attended the high-tea with other ministers like Shivpal Yadav, Ambika Chaudhary and Rajendra Chaudhary. Asked about Azam’s letter and he skipping the high-tea, Naik said: “I will not respond to a letter, which was first sent to the media and later to me. As for skipping the high-tea, you should speak to the minister.” When asked, Azam said that since he was standing at the Governor’s house, it was improper to make any comment on the issue. Akhilesh, meanwhile, refused to give any statement, claiming that he had just come to attend Usmani’s oath taking ceremony. Asked about the Opposition gearing up to corner the government on various issues in the Assembly, Azam said: “Agar sarkar ke munh mein jawan hogi to who jawab degi (If the government has a tongue in its mouth, then it will surely respond to the Opposition)”. Azam, also the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, added: “We were forced to close some welfare schemes, especially meant for girls, like Padhein Betiyan, Badhein Betiyan and Humari Beti Uska Kal because of the BJP and the BSP. We were supposed to give Rs 30,000 as aid to the needy but stopped it because of the Opposition. Now, children are cursing the BJP and the BSP.” Meanwhile, after taking oath, Chief Information Commissioner Jawed Usmani said his priorities are to maintain a balance between the government and the public through proper implementation of the provisions of the Right to Information Act. Soon, he will start training the public information officers of all departments to dispose of applications under RTI at the very initial stage, he added.
