Day three of the budget session of the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday saw Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs target the conduct of bureaucrats for the second day, with Speaker Ram Niwas Goel initiating privilege proceedings against one officer.
Mr. Goel also referred four matters to the Questions and Reference Committee after MLAs found answers to four queries given during Question Hour incomplete or inadequate.
On Monday, Matiala MLA Gulab Singh had asked whether an alleged incident of a mob entering a school and beating up staff for scolding a student was true.
The incident was mentioned by a senior IAS officer in an interview to a Hindi daily while speaking about the violence faced by government employees in the context of the alleged attack on the Chief Secretary last month. Mr. Singh asked if the government had taken any action in the matter. Education Minister Manish Sisodia had replied that the government was not in the know of any such incident.
Seeks explanation
Continuing his reply on Tuesday, Mr. Sisodia said that he had sought an explanation from the Chief Secretary. He said the incident that the officer, Revenue Secretary Manisha Saxena, was referring to was not about a mob attacking teachers for scolding a child.
“The incident happened at a Narela school on February 21 after a student had gone missing,” he said, terming the incident that Ms. Saxena referred to as an “imaginary story”.
Ms. Saxena, as the head of the association of IAS (AGMUT cadre) officers in Delhi, had been at the forefront of protests against the alleged attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP MLAs at the Chief Minister’s residence on February 19.
Following a demand by AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Speaker referred the matter to the Privilege and Questions and Reference committees.
Three other matters, two were about the Food and Civil Supplies Department and one about the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, were referred to the Questions and Reference Committee.
Referring to one of the answers given by Food and Civil Supplies principal secretary-cum-commissioner K.R. Meena, Mr. Bharadwaj said the information was “incomplete”. Another question related to the department about Aadhaar-linked ration distribution was given a “misleading” reply, said MLA Rakhi Birla, who had asked the question. A question about public toilets asked by BJP MLA Jagdish Pradhan was also found to have an inadequate reply.
