Team Herald
PORVORIM: The opposition benches on Monday staged a walk out during the Question Hour session of the State Legislative Assembly, after ruling MLAs hijacked the session on single question relating to the tourism department, forcing the hour long sitting to conclude with just three questions.
The Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Pratapsingh Rane, Independent MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Naresh Sawal and Rohan Khaunte and the unattached legislator Atanasio Monserrate walked out of the House, for failing to get an opportunity to table their Question. The opposition alleged that it was “planned delay tactic” to ensure that the crucial question pertaining to scams in beach cleaning and Housing Board are not raised.
The question on beach cleaning tabled jointly by Congress MLA Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Lourenco Reginaldo and Monserrate was listed as 5A, while another clubbed question by Sardesai, Kamat and Monserate on land acquisition by Housing Board was listed 5B.
“This was a well planned move by the ruling. They wanted to hijack the session to ensure those government misdeeds are not exposed. It was a planned delay tactics,” opposition told media persons after the session.
The entire scene happened during the second question tabled by BJP MLA Subash Phal Dessai on tourism projects in Sanguem Constituency. The Question which was raised at 11.50 am, continued till 12.20 pm, with BJP MLAs asking back to back questions on the issue.
Rane, Reginaldo, Sardesai and Khaunte interrupted the discussion requesting the Speaker Anant Shet to call for next Question, as the issue was getting unnecessarily dragged.
However, the ruling MLAs including Phal Dessai, Nilesh Cabral, Glenn Ticlo and Siddharth Kunkolienkar countered the opposition creating a noisy scene. “Is this assembly session only to ask questions on casinos? You (Congress) introduced casinos and now they only are asking questions. I want to know what is happening in my constituency,” Phal Dessai told the House.
Kuncolienkar said that if any legislators have problem, they are free to walk out or boycott it.
Interestingly, soon after opposition walked out, Speaker called for next question, which was also from the Tourism.
