
Absentee senior IAS officers should be tied up and brought to House like it was done in British Parliament, suggests BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar in Maharashtra legislative assembly
Panel Speaker Chetan Tupe mentioned that often, officials watch the proceedings on television, so their TV sets should be switched off so that they come to the House.
Mungantiwar raised the issue of the absentee senior IAS officers after around 50 MLAs moved a motion for discussion on important public issues in the legislative assembly under Rule 293. He said: "When I was an MLA in 1995, the department secretaries used to sit in on important discussions. If the secretaries do not attend even after being called, can we give them some directions, like the way such officials were tied up and brought in the British Parliament?"
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Pointing out that it is necessary for secretaries of the departments concerned to be present during discussions in the House, Mungantiwar said: "The discussion under Rule 293 is necessary for the progress of the state. We proposed the discussion to create a happy, prosperous, advanced, progressive, reformist Maharashtra. The ministers may be busy with the work of their departments, but why is not a single secretary sitting in the House?"
Sena MLA Arjun Khotkar backed Mungantiwar.
"I have been elected for the last 40 years...Earlier, there was no space to sit in the House...it was difficult to accommodate all officers. But if there is such apathy today, how will the state's issues be resolved? Mungantiwar gave the example of the British Parliament, where there was an option to tie up secretaries and bring them here, let's see if something can be done," Khotkar said.
Responding to the two MLAs' grievances, Tupe said, "...govt should take the issue and the feelings of the members seriously, and take appropriate action in this regard. Often these officials watch the proceedings on TV. If necessary, their TVs should be switched off so that they will get used to coming to the House."
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