Governor seeks details of comments made against him in assembly
LUCKNOW: A day after being targeted by minister for parliamentary affairs Mohd Azam Khan for withholding a bill, governor Ram Naik on Wednesday sought an unedited printed copy along with audio/video CD of the comments the minister made against him in the Vidhan Sabha.
A Raj Bhawan communique said the governor had sent a letter in this regard to Vidhan Sabha speaker Mata Prasad Pandey.
In his letter, the governor said he wanted to go through the comments made by the minister, members and the Speaker about him while speaking in Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday on two bills - Uttar Pradesh Nagar Nigam (Amendment) Bill 2015 and Uttar Pradesh Nagar Palika Vidhi (Amendment) Bill 2015.
Sources said the governor has taken serious note of the whole issue as comments against him were made by none other than the minister for parliamentary affairs who was expected to uphold parliamentary norms. Besides, the comments were made inside the Vidhan Sabha where no remarks are allowed against the governor.
Khan had targeted the governor for withholding assent to Uttar Pradesh Nagar Nigam (Amendment) Bill 2015. The bill provides for removal of mayors for financial irregularities and misconduct in office. Khan had referred to Uttar Pradesh Nagar Palika Vidhi (Amendment) Bill 2015 to make his point. Khan said the governor’s move to withhold assent to the bill indicated that he was protecting interests of mayors of a political party.
“How do we run our departments when those occupying high offices act in such a manner. This is unfortunate,” said Khan adding the BJP members thought the bill had been brought to target mayors belonging to their party. “The house should consider for how long such bills may be stalled,” he said.
A RAJ BHAWAN COMMUNIQUE SAID THE GOVERNOR HAD SENT A LETTER IN THIS REGARD TO VIDHAN SABHA SPEAKER MATA PRASAD.
Taking strong exception to Khan’s observations, BJP legislature party leader Suresh Khanna had demanded the observations made against the governor be expunged from proceedings of the House.
The speaker on his part said the governor had the constitutional powers to withhold his assent on any bill and that he would convey the minister’s feelings personally to the governor.
Earlier, the governor was denied provisions of new protocol at the time of commencement of budget session of state legislature. The President of India had approved new protocol for arrival of governor in the Vidhan Bhawan for his addressing before joint sitting of state legislature.