Maharashtra MLA claims officials delaying response to questions, speaker promises white paper

Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Amid concerns raised by some MLAs over the 'delay' in receiving the response to their questions, Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday directed the state government to fix responsibility and place a report every session. The speaker also said a white paper detailing the status of pending questions and replies would be tabled in the assembly before the conclusion of the ongoing monsoon session. Raising the issue, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar said the sanctity of the legislature must be protected, noting that generations had made sacrifices to strengthen democracy and Parliamentary institutions. He said replies to five "starred" questions raised during the 2022 Budget session of the state legislature were received only recently, after a delay of several years. He urged the speaker to identify officials responsible for such delays, take action, and provide a status report in the House during every session. Noting that the legislature occupies a special place in the country's Constitutional framework, the speaker said the delays in responding to legislators undermine that institutional role. He said the issue was serious and told the assembly that work was underway to update the legislative business dashboard to improve monitoring of questions and replies. The upgraded system would be ready before the next session, the speaker added. PTI MR NSK