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Delhi Assembly seeks to start fellowship and internship programme
The issue was raised by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti in the House who said Delhi’s legislators have no access to a facility where they could research and do field work on various legislative affairs.
The Delhi Assembly on Thursday sought to introduce a fellowship and internship programme along the lines of a similar programme underway in the Delhi government.
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Thursday referred the matter to the General Purpose Committee (GPC) of the Delhi assembly which will consult stakeholders and submit a report on the same. The issue was raised by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti in the House who said Delhi’s legislators have no access to a facility where they could research and do field work on various legislative affairs.
“We have to remain directly in touch with people and are answerable to them. For this, having sound knowledge about various issues is very essential. Sometimes, we have to act or speak on specific issues at short notice. Forget having an intern or access to a research wing in the Vidhan Sabha, we do not even have any stenographer for dictation. All this, reduces our productivity,” Bharti said.
He said that Members of Parliament (MPs) have similar facilities to which deputy CM Manish Sisodia agreed and said that the Delhi government is willing to fund such a project.
“The issue raised by Bharti is a valid one. Being the finance minister, I assure that even if we need to put researchers or interns in all the 70 constituencies of Delhi, the government will provide monetary assistance to the Assembly secretariat,” Sisodia said.
Speaker Goel said the Assembly’s GPC will look into the matter and said Bharti would be a “special invitee” to the panel for suggesting other measures. Goel also serves as the chairperson of the GPC.
The speaker also informed the lawmakers that the Assembly secretariat has recently sent a proposal to the Delhi government on making proceedings of the House “paperless” at a cost of ₹20 crore.
Sisodia also raised the issue of salaries of the MLAs in the national capital and alleged that the Centre was “sitting over a bill” passed by the Delhi assembly which proposed increasing their salaries.
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