Punjab Bhawan rooms' issue: Congress MLA wants CS, AG to pay up rental charges

A day after several Congress MLAs raked up the issue of the denial of rooms in Block A of Punjab Bhawan in New Delhi, another ruling party legislator on Wednesday sought recovery of rental charges from the Chief Secretary and Advocate General for booking of permanent rooms in their names.

Block A in the Punjab Bhawan is reserved for VIPs, including the ministers and top bureaucrats, whereas other legislators are accommodated in Block B.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the budget session here, Gurdaspur MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra lamented that he had no information yet about the status of the booking of a room in Punjab Bhawan from March 4 to 6.

It is not a question of a room. It is a matter of the MLA's dignity,' Pahra said inside the Punjab Assembly.

Intervening in the matter, Speaker Rana K P Singh again assured the House that it was his responsibility to secure the rights of MLAs.

Pahra told the Speaker that it was shameful that he was not entitled for having a permanent room at Delhi's Punjab Bhawan.

The Chief Secretary has a permanent room there. Atul Nanda ji (AG) has permanent room there. It is my request to recover rent from them for the last three years, Pahra said.

The Gurdaspur legislator further pointed out that he had not been able to get a flat in Chandigarh for the last three years. The CS and other officers are entitled for houses at Sector 39, then, why not MLAs?, he asked.

Pahra said MLAs were accountable to people but questioned where the accountability of bureaucracy was.

On Tuesday, several ruling party MLAs had raised the issue of the denial of rooms in Block A of Punjab Bhawan in the state assembly and even demanded action against the officials concerned.