‘Not in favour of holding question hour as L-G has restricted queries on law & order, services, land’

New Delhi: Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday said he is not in favour of having question hour in the House as he cannot accept queries of MLAs on reserved subjects of law and order, land and services due to a “restriction” by the lieutenant governor.

It is irrelevant to allow question hour unless the L-G permits questions to be asked by the MLAs on these subjects, he said.

“I am not in the favour of question hour. When the Speaker cannot accept questions about the Delhi Police, services, land and the building department, what subjects remain to be accepted,” he told a press conference when asked why there was no question hour during the four-day session that ended on Thursday. Goel said the Lt Governor has “prohibited” asking questions on these subjects and demanded he lift it.

“There has never been such a restriction since the constitution of Assembly in Delhi. Is the L-G scared that the corruption in the police, the DDA and the transfer scam of the services department will be exposed,” he said, alleging the L-G was “misusing his office”. Goel said he also thought of not accepting “starred questions” either as the “L-G was misusing his office”.

Goel also said there was a “security lapse” during this session as BJP legislators came with oxygen cylinders and water bottles in the House. The security officials concerned have been warned about this and a direction has been issued regarding protests happening just outside the Assembly premises, he said.

The Speaker said he has sent to the DJB and a private company the samples of purported Yamuna water presented by the BJP MLAs in the session for lab tests. Goel, who had during the session expressed concern that the bottles produced by BJP MLAs could contain acid, warned that he will take “strict action” if any wrongdoing was found in the test reports.

He said the DJB also has been directed to sample Yamuna water from three places one km apart and present its report to the Assembly.

The BJP MLAs had protested purportedly carrying dirty Yamuna water bottles within the Assembly premises during the session and they had also produced the bottles in the House. Detailing business conducted in the recently concluded session, he said 39 matters

under ‘Special Mention’ were allowed, papers of eight departments were tabled, and two bills were passed.