The marathon 36-hour-long special session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature, which commenced at 11 am on October 2 to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi concluded on Thursday night.
Both houses of the legislature, the Assembly and the Council, on Thursday passed a resolution asking the state government to take effective steps to achieve the sustainable development goals set up by the United Nations while adhering to the ideals of the Father of the Nation.
As the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly were going on, members of the Legislative Council too joined them following adjournment), thereby giving it the look of a joint meeting of both the houses.
Asked to comment on the nature of the sitting and whether it should be termed as joint session of both the houses, Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Hriday Narayan Dixit told PTI, "It should not be construed as joint session or joint sitting. It can be called as 'sanyukt sammelan' (joint meeting)."
Taking a jibe at the opposition, the Chief Minister said, "Initially they had said no to 48 hour-long-session. The fact is that it difficult for the opposition to sit even for a minute. The slogans, which they had raised in the name of the poor, have been unveiled. The opposition used to say that there is no discussion on poverty in the house, and when the discussions were going on, the opposition went 'nau-do-gyarah' (fled away)."
Hitting out at the Congress in particular, Adityanath said, "Those who fled from discussion, for them democracy means their family. The Congress should have participated in the session."