PORVORIM: The Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly was washed out for the second consecutive day on Tuesday over Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa’s statement against Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar.
However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant put an end to the issue based on the statements of Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, even as he said that disrespect to the Speaker’s chair should not happen in the future.
The Question Hour could not be taken up as the House witnessed noisy scenes, with the treasury benches demanding an apology from Congress MLA Altone D’Costa, while the opposition members remained steadfast in their stance that the matter be referred to the Privilege Committee as per the rules of the House.
The Speaker adjourned the House on two occasions. But just before the Zero Hour, the Chief Minister announced that the ruling benches were ending the issue and that they had no intention of disrupting the Question Hour. However, he asserted that members should respect the Speaker’s chair.
The Quepem MLA demanded that the procedure be followed and settling the issue in the Speaker’s foyer would set a bad precedent. He reiterated that the matter be referred to the Privilege Committee and that he would appear before it.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said that the procedure of the House has to be followed and demanded to know whether the procedure had been changed. He said that the Speaker should give his ruling since the Quepem MLA had requested a referral to the Privilege Committee.
Sardesai added that ruling party members were selectively disrupting the Question Hour while allowing the Zero Hour. He further pointed out that the question of an apology does not arise when Vasco MLA Krishna ‘Daji’ Salkar had already moved a breach of privilege notice, which had been listed in the agenda.
