Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday announced to soon form a committee of senior legislators to strengthen the institution of MLAs and maintain their dignity.
He was responding to the issue raised by Congress MLA Bhawani Singh Pathania through point of order.
The chief minister said his government will work to strengthen the Vidhan Sabha secretariat and the committee will submit a report on how to maintain the dignity and respect of MLAs. He said everyone has their own dignity and it is everyone’s duty to respect each other. Sukhu said it is the responsibility of the secretariat to take care of MLAs’ convenience. He said a person becomes MLA by winning the election after hard work. Maintaining his respect is also very important, he added.
Sukhu said lowering the dignity of an MLA is equal to weakening the assembly secretariat. He termed the excessive activism of the judiciary wrong and said because of this, the work of the legislators is being interfered with.
The chief minister said he would ask the judicial officer who challaned MLA Pathania on whether he has the authority to put his nameplate on the vehicle.
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister said he would ask the judicial officer who challaned MLA Pathania on whether he has the authority to put his nameplate on the vehicle.
{{/usCountry}}He said the government will consider the MLA flag code, and added that he would also consult the high court.
Earlier, raising the matter, Pathania said his vehicle was challaned at Shimla’s Boileauganj on Thursday because it had a flag rod. He alleged that there was a campaign to harass the MLAs in Shimla.
MLA Sanjay Rattan said if officers can put their name plates on their vehicles, then why MLAs can’t put flag rods. MLA Prakash Rana said his vehicle was challaned for ₹6,000 by the traffic magistrate in Joginder Nagar because the medical kit in it was missing.
Horticulture minister Jagat Singh Negi said giving a flag rod to the MLA is a state subject and the law has been amended in this regard, which the government should implement immediately. He said as per the law, even SP and DC cannot hoist the flag on their vehicles. He also demanded to do away with seat belts in hilly areas.
Sundernagar MLA Rakesh Jamwal alleged that the police and traffic magistrates were deliberately insulting the elected representatives. MLA Vinod Sultanpuri claimed that the police tried to break the flag rod of his vehicle two days ago on the assembly premises.
Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said a protocol is a separate thing, but otherwise too, there should be a sense of respect for each other as a courtesy. He said due to a lack of unity among the MLAs, people, especially police and traffic magistrates, treat them with disrespect. Jai Ram also opposed the installation of beacons on the vehicles of the officers and claimed they had resorted to this “gimmick to maintain their identity”.