Maharashtra Speaker pulls up govt over absence of ministers, officials

Mumbai: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the absence of ministers and senior officials during the proceedings of the House. He directed Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar (IAS:1989:MH) to appear in the legislature within 30 minutes.

The Speaker asserted that the Assembly would not function according to the convenience of officials and warned that if such incidents recur, the House could be adjourned for the entire day.

The issue was raised during a discussion in the Assembly after Opposition members complained that the ministers concerned and senior departmental officials were not present in the House and the officers’ gallery.

Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Vijay Wadettiwar termed the absence of ministers and secretaries an insult to the legislature, the Speaker’s chair and the people of Maharashtra. He demanded that the proceedings be adjourned until they were present.

Expressing serious concern, Narwekar said repeated complaints had been received from Opposition members that the ministers concerned were not present to respond to discussions and that senior officials were also absent from the officers’ gallery. He directed the Chief Secretary to remain present in the Assembly within half an hour and said ministers must ensure their presence whenever matters relating to their departments are taken up for discussion.

Following protests by Opposition members, the House was adjourned for around 10 minutes. When the proceedings resumed, Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar appeared in the officers’ gallery.

Replying on behalf of the government, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil said some ministers and senior officials were attending other official engagements, including government meetings, which led to their absence from the House.

Narwekar, however, cautioned the government against any recurrence of such incidents and said the presence of ministers and senior officials during legislative proceedings must be ensured.

“There are 110 secretaries who take salaries from the government and even four are not present. There can be nothing more important than legislature proceedings,” the Speaker said.

He warned that if ministers were absent from the House and officials from the officers’ gallery during debates in future, the Assembly could be adjourned for the entire day.