Opposition BJP today staged walkout in Himachal Pradesh Assembly alleging that its members were not given enough time to speak on a Bill on election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation.
The Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, seeking restoration of provision for indirect elections of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation, was, however, passed in the absence of the Opposition and would replace the Ordinance promulgated in 2010.
Earlier when Ravinder Singh Ravi (BJP) wanted to speak on the Bill, Speaker Brij Bihari Lal Butail did not allow him, saying that ample time had been given to opposition members.
"The Business Advisory Committee has allotted only 20 minutes for discussion and I have already given more time to Opposition members to speak on the Bill," the Speaker said.
Agitated by the response of the Speaker, the BJP members walked out of the House, saying they wanted meaningful discussion on the Bill but their voice was being "muzzled".
Explaining the provision and objectives of the Bill, Town and Country Planning Minister Sudhir Sharma said the previous BJP government had amended the HP Municipal Corporation Act in 2010 but the new provision of direct elections of Mayor and Deputy Mayor did not work successfully.
BJP MLAs questioned the urgency of bringing in the Bill and said it was being pushed through without going into the merits of the amendments effected by the BJP government.
Rajiv Bindal (BJP) said introducing the Bill was wrong as the reason and objects cited in the Bill did not exist at all.
The Bill, however, was adopted unanimously by voice vote in the absence of the Opposition.
Earlier, the House adopted the Himachal Pradesh Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2013, paving way for indirect elections of President and Vice-Presidents of other municipal bodies.
