By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 18 Aug: The monsoon session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly will commence in Gairsain from tomorrow and will last 4 days. All indications suggest that it will most likely be a stormy affair. Apart from routine legislative business, the government will table supplementary demands for grants, which sources indicate are to the tune of around Rs 5,400 crores. This will be the first supplementary budget to be tabled during the current financial year.
The session comes against the backdrop of mounting public concern over a spate of landslides, flash floods, and other disasters that have rocked the state in recent months. In early August, a cloudburst in Uttarkashi caused heavy loss of life and property, underlining once again the fragility of the Himalayan ecosystem. The Opposition is expected to seize the opportunity to corner the government over disaster management, claiming that adequate preparedness, safety measures and mitigation strategies were missing.
Law and order is likely to be another likely focal point of debate. With a number of sensitive incidents reported from different parts of the state in recent weeks, the government’s handling of policing and civil administration is bound to be scrutinised closely. The Congress has been raising the issue of law and order and ‘lack of adequate safety for women’ in the state during the past few months. The Opposition has already signalled its intent to hold the ruling benches accountable for what it alleges to be lapses in governance.
Further controversy is expected over the recently held panchayat elections. Apart from questions of reservation, the rotation of seats, and overall fairness of the electoral process have already generated considerable friction, and Opposition parties are set to challenge the government on this count during the proceedings. Allegations of even kidnapping of elected District Panchayat members have emerged in respect of the recently concluded District Panchayat elections. For the first time, a firing incident has been reported from Nainital district during the elections. In fact, the High Court is also hearing a case regarding alleged kidnapping of elected district panchayat members in Nainital district. The Congress has been very vocal in the past few days over this issue and is expected to raise it in the House as well.
Apart from this, the session is also likely witness the introduction of the Minority Education Bill, which proposes to widen recognition of minority institutions beyond Muslim-run schools to include Sikh, Jain, Christian, Buddhist, and Parsi establishments as approved by the Cabinet on Sunday. If passed, it would make Uttarakhand the first state to formally extend such recognition in law, a development that is expected to generate both support and criticism across party lines.
The government is also expected to emphasise its commitment to modernising legislative functioning by expanding the adoption of the National e-Vidhan Application, thereby digitising Assembly processes and enhancing transparency. While this is a technical reform, it is being projected as part of a broader push towards good governance.
Overall, the session will test the ruling dispensation’s ability to defend its record amidst multiple challenges. It will be for the first time that Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal will be handling the responsibility as Parliamentary Affairs Minister. This has been necessitated by the resignation of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal over certain controversial remarks during the last assembly session. As usual, the session will be short and some Opposition members claimed that the session may get over in two to three days as has happened in the past particularly when the sessions have been held in Gairsain, which is the summer capital of Uttarakhand. However, it has hardly ever functioned as a summer capital so far. Also, the tendency not to begin the session of the Assembly on Mondays continues this time too. Monday is the day fixed for Question Hour on the portfolios under the charge of the Chief Minister.
