Opposition bats for longer duration of assembly sessions

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, January 10, 2025

The opposition parties CPIM and Congress on Friday urged the Speaker of Tripura Legislative Assembly to increase the duration of assembly sessions citing that due to shortage of time, many topics of public interest missed out a place for discussion. Raising the topic while the report of the Business Advisory Committee was tabled on the floor of the house, senior Congress MLA Gopal Chandra Roy urged the speaker to make sure that more time is allotted for discussion in the sixths session of the 13th assembly. He requested that the speaker at least add two additional days in the present session. However, his request was not entertained. Responding to the matter, Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “This session is short because, in the BAC meetings, representatives from all the parties unanimously decided that the budget session will be longer in duration. He also assured the opposition MLAs that enough time will be kept for discussion on all the departments.” Reacting to the issue, Leader of Opposition Jitendra Choudhury asserted that if the members of the house were not allowed to discuss all the departments, the government itself missed the opportunity to highlight its achievements. “When Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha conduct the annual meeting of presiding officers, they recommend that small states like Tripura must conduct assembly sessions which cumulatively touch the 60 days mark,” Choudhury pointed out. Discussing the matter, Congress MLA Gopal Chandra Roy alleged that for the first time in the history of Tripura, a three-day budget session was conducted last year. “There are no such precedents like what has happened during the last budget session. Never in the history of Tripura assembly, a budget session was wrapped up within three days; this must stop, and adequate time should be allotted to the MLAs,” Roy pointed out.