NEW DELHI: The special Delhi Assembly session convened on Monday to discuss the chilli powder attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came under the gaze of experts and Aam Aadmi Party opponents, who questioned the need to call a session.
“This is a bad precedent that is being set. Special Assembly sessions are called only for emergencies, not for taking political pot shots at opponents,” said S.K Sharma, former Delhi Assembly Secretary.
“The expenditure that is incurred to conduct a session is public money. If the Assembly is not prorogued, then it continues to be in session whether it is sitting or not,” he added.
Political observers pointed out that while Sheila Dikshit held such sessions only on three occasions during her 15 years at the helm, the AAP government has convened the Assembly 10 times in three-and-a-half years.
As per the constitution, three sessions are allowed in a year, which are commonly known as budget, monsoon and winter sessions.
Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken, who was the Delhi Speaker in 2003-04, said he “never allowed a session to be called to discuss personal matters or unimportant issues.”
“Kejriwal has not the found time to discuss important issues like the rising pollution levels in Delhi, the illegal sealing drive,” he said in a letter to Speaker Ram Niwas Goel.
“It takes crores to call one session and Kejriwal has called the special session just to discuss the fabricated chili attack by using money collected from taxes paid by the citizens of Delhi,” BJP general secretary Ravindra Gupta said.
The AAP justified the special session saying it was “a very healthy sign of democracy that all the MLAs are meeting frequently.”
“Also in the previous special Assembly sessions, very specific people-centric issues were discussed. If an attack on the Chief Minister is not an urgent matter then what is?” asked AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj.
3 special sessions during Cong’s 15-year-tenure
First session: Supreme Court banned plying of non-CNG vehicles in Delhi. The government sought more time to implement the order
Second session: SC ordered shifting of small-scale industries run in residential areas to the outskirts. Session called to get the Opposition members on board and ask the court for more time
Third session: Delhi Statehood Bill was presented for the first time in the Assembly