Budget session begins on stormy note
Guwahati: The issue of proposed auctioning of 12 small oil fields rocked Assam Assembly on the first day of the first Budget Session of the newly-elected BJP-led government.
The opposition Congress and All Indian United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Monday walked out of the House after the Speaker Ranjit Kumar Das did not heed to their request for an Adjournment Motion after the Question Hour of the House to discuss the oil fields issue
The matter, raised by Opposition Congress and AIUDF, first led to a brief adjournment of the House as some of the Opposition members and a section of ruling party members created a noisy scene in the House. When the House reassembled after the adjournment, the Opposition MLAs from Congress and AIUDF staged walk-out for the day in protest against Speaker’s disagreement to their request for an Adjournment Motion. The Opposition MLAS had trooped into the Well of the House displaying placards and raising slogans, and continued their protest for more than 10 minutes.
As soon as the Question Hour was over, the leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia of Congress and HRA Choudhury of AIUDF had brought separate notices for Adjournment Motions to discuss the matter of open bidding of small oil fields in the state as decided by the Union Petroleum Ministry.
Speaker Ranjit Kumar Das, pointing that Congress MLA Ajanta Neog had already given a notice to raise the matter, said the issue can be covered during that discussion and he refused to allow the Adjournment Motions.
The Congress and AIUDF finally staged a walk out as the Speaker persisted with his stand not allow the Adjournment Motion.
The Central government’s decision to go for open bidding of 12 small oil fields in Assam, along with other such oil fields in other parts of the country, has led to widespread protests across the state.
Not only Congress and the AIUDF, even a section of AGP (an ally of the BJP) led by former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta too have opposed the Centre’s decision.