The speaker directs Chief Secretary to inquire on the issue
A breach of privilege motion by the deputy speaker and BJP MLA from Almora, Raghunath Singh Chauhan left the state government red faced in the assembly on Tuesday. Incidentally the issue came up when Chauhan in absence of the speaker was presiding over the assembly proceedings. Prompted by the Congress members Chauhan said that the district magistrate of Almora refused his request to send Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the district to a locality where death of three Covid-19 patients had occurred. Terming it as his breach of privilege, Chauhan brought the notice against the DM in the assembly. When the issue was being discussed with the opposition terming it as a breach of privilege of the chair itself, the Speaker Premchand Agarwal took over the charge of the speaker. He directed that the chief secretary (CS) should inquire on the issue and inform the assembly. Talking about the issue later in the day, the Parliamentary affairs minister Madan Kaushik said that the issue was sorted out on Monday itself. He however added that the government has told the speaker that on his approval the inquiry can be handed over to the chief secretary. Talking with the media, Chauhan said that the attitude of the DM reminds him of the rule of Britishers.
The Congress MLA from Kedarnath Manoj Rawat said that the breach of privilege motion by the deputy speaker who also is a ruling party member highlights that all is not well in the state and the bureaucracy is becoming unbridled.
Wednesday, 23 December 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
