?Disturbing? proforma to be removed

CHIEF MINISTER Mulayam Singh Yadav today assured the Vidhan Sabha members that he would ensure that ?derogatory and embarrassing? questions asked in a proforma circulated to them for collection of personal information would be removed.

CHIEF MINISTER Mulayam Singh Yadav today assured the Vidhan Sabha members that he would ensure that ‘derogatory and embarrassing’ questions asked in a proforma circulated to them for collection of personal information would be removed.

HT Image

The Chief Minister agreed that certain questions were not in good taste. However, he somewhat justified the questionnaire on the plea that all the parties had joined hands in condemning and criticising government for providing gunners and shadows to MLAs of criminal antecedents and the proforma was prepared to collect information on legislators of criminal background.  

Hukum Singh (BJP) raised the issue through a question of propriety. He said humiliating questions like ‘whether any criminal case was pending against you or not’ and ‘give details of pending criminal cases’ were being asked. He alleged whosoever had prepared the questionnaire had treated legislators as criminals and mafia dons.

Singh objected to questionnaire language and said it was an insult of the House and its members.

TRIBUTES: Leader of the Opposition Lalji Tandon today criticised the practice of paying belated tributes to former members of the House.

However, leader of the Congress Legislature Party Pramod Tiwari and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Khan opposed Tandon and said the members must regret the inordinate delay in paying tributes but due respect must be shown to former members.

Pramod Tiwari suggested that DMs should be instructed to provide information to the House within 24 hours of an MLA’s death.

Earlier, growing tributes were paid to 19 former MLAs, former UP Governor Suraj Bhan and Bhanu Pratap Singh and a two-minute silence was observed in respect of the departed souls.