Cong MLAs boycott assembly motion after Rule 84 ‘amendment’

Chandigarh: Congress MLAs on Thursday boycotted a motion listed under Rule 84 in the Haryana assembly, alleging that the proposal originally placed on the agenda had been altered and reintroduced in a changed form on the subject of "increasing the employment guarantee from 100 days to 125 days."Deputy leader of the Congress Legislative Party Aftab Ahmed and chief whip Bharat Bhushan Batra said in a joint statement that the motion presented before the House bore little resemblance to the one circulated earlier, prompting Congress legislators to stage a boycott at the time of its introduction.According to them, the revised motion not only shifted focus to extending employment guarantee but also mentioned "confusion among the public and rural labourers" over provisions of the so-called "VB GRAMG Yojana." They argued that a motion under Rule 84 cannot be fundamentally altered, and that such changes violate the interpretation of rules governing House proceedings. If a proposal is not maintainable under the rules, they said, discussion on it is also legally impermissible.They stressed that the boycott was not an attempt to evade debate but a step taken to uphold legislative procedure and the dignity of the Business Rule Book.The leaders said Congress had no objection to discussing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, or the "GRAMG Act," and was prepared to debate the issue even on Thursday—provided it was taken up under proper rules or during the motion of thanks on the governor's address.They added that MGNREGA, unanimously passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2005, remains a historic and welfare-oriented law. Any attempt by the BJP to dilute it or introduce a new law to remove Mahatma Gandhi's name, they said, goes against democratic values. The manner in which the BJP sought to hold the discussion, they alleged, was against the rules, unconstitutional and illegal.Aftab Ahmed and Batra reiterated that the Congress remains committed to safeguarding democratic norms, constitutional values and the dignity of the House, while continuing to raise issues of public interest strictly within the framework of legislative rules.