Rights of members being trampled by non-prorogation of House: Partap Singh Bajwa to Punjab Assembly Speaker

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India]: Leader of the Opposition Partap Bajwa has written to Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan about the non-prorogation of the House, urging him to address the issue promptly and ensure the sanctity and dignity of Vidhan Sabha as it is ‘affecting the functioning of the legislative body and rights of its members’.

In his letter to the Speaker, Bajwa said that the practice of Non-Prorogation of the House has significantly hindered the fundamental right of Members to seek information on matters of public interest.

“This is a practice that has been undermining the fundamental rights of the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and the Vidhan Sabha’s authority over the Executive,” he said.

He further said that the non-prorogation has also diluted the supremacy of the Legislature over the Executive, by depriving the Members of the use of the tools to raise crucial issues affecting their constituencies during Zero Hour, Call Attention Notices, and through Adjournment Motions.

He said that due to non-prorogation and the abrupt calling of the session, members were unable to submit new questions.

“Even the Chief Minister wrongly intervened to reference the re-summoning of the 9th sitting of the House on 26th November 2019, in response to a request from the then Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Brahm Mohindra, as the session had not been prorogued,” Bajwa said.

“I would like to emphasize that the sole instance of re-summoning the House was an extraordinary occurrence, specifically connected to the commemoration of the 50th year of Constitution Day.

This decision was made in response to communication received from the Government of India on 14 November 2023. It is important to note that during this period, the Chief Minister was abroad, making it a unique circumstance that cannot serve as a justification for the ongoing and undesirable practice of not proroguing the House after a sine-die adjournment,” he added.

He said that it is regrettable that the recent House was adjourned sine die due to the intervention of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

“This act can be viewed as overruling the decision of the Chair on the legality of the proceedings of the House,” he said.

In the Parliament, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are typically prorogued within two to four days, and there have been instances when prorogation occurred on the same day as the sine die adjournment, he added.

“Enclosed with this letter are documents that highlight these precedents, and I trust they will convince you of the merit of following this established and healthy practice,” he said, urging the Speaker to use his influence to urge the government to abandon the unhealthy practice of keeping the House adjourned sine die without prorogation.

“This step is vital to uphold the dignity and sanctity of the House and, most importantly, to protect Members’ rights to address the concerns of their constituents promptly through the House for immediate redressal by the Executive,” Bajwa added.