Chhattisgarh Assembly to have first-ever secret sitting in India

The Chhattisgarh Assembly will conduct the first-ever secret sitting in the parliamentary history of India on Thursday to discuss the Naxal problem, which has emerged as the biggest internal security threat in India.

Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha Secretary Devendra Verma told Business Standard that not a single secret sitting had been held neither in Parliament nor in any of the assemblies in past despite the rules of conduct having a provision for the same.

In the secret sitting, only the members will be allowed and all the galleries, including that of media and officials, will be closed. Only three top officials of the government "" chief secretary, principal secretary (home) and director general of state police "" will be allowed entry. The records of the proceedings will not be made public without the permission of the Speaker.

The secret sitting will be conducted from 11 am to 3 pm and later the House will transact other business after all the galleries are opened.

"The members avoid speaking on such sensitive issues (Naxal problem) in the open. Even the government, which finalises strategic plans for such problems, also avoids opening its cards," Verma said, adding the secret sitting would provide room for all to freely discuss the problem.