PANAJI
Leader of the Opposition, Yuri Alemao, on Tuesday slammed the Pramod Sawant-led government for curtailing the winter session to just two days, February 6 and 7, saying it is obvious that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are afraid of being exposed in multiple scams, including the job-for-cash and land grab scams.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Alemao said that of the two days, no business will be transacted other than the address by Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai.
“So in just one day, how can we seek accountability from the government pertaining to all the departments? The rules permit members to ask just three starred and 15 unstarred questions per day. It is impossible,” Alemao said, adding that with such actions, the government is presiding over the murder of democracy.
On the issue of the short duration of the winter session, which effectively is just one working day, Alemao was also critical of the passive role of Speaker Ramesh Tawardkar.
“The Speaker should have intervened and coerced the government to agree to a longer session. But he just throws his hands up in submission to the government’s whims,” Alemao said.
“We (Opposition MLAs) will soon meet and decide how to tackle this situation where the government is hell-bent on strangling democracy,” he added.
