UP Assembly adjourned on first day of winter session

The proceedings on the first day of the winter session of Uttar Pradesh Assembly were adjourned for the day Tuesday after condoling deaths of former Chief Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari and BJP legislator Patel Ram Kumar Verma.

As soon as the House met for the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath read the condolence messages. Leaders of the SP, the BSP, the Congress and other parties also condoled the deaths.

After observing silence, the House was adjourned for the day by Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit.

Tiwari died in New Delhi on October 18 at the age of 93 after prolonged illness. The veteran leader has served as a Union minister in several Congress governments and as the Andhra Pradesh governor. He also served as Uttarakhand chief minister.

BJP MLA from Nighasan, Patel Ram Kumar Verma, died at a hospital in Lucknow on September 30 due to ailments. He was 64 and was the PWD minister in 1991 and cooperative minister in 1997 in UP.

During the brief winter session, spread over four sittings, the government will table bills to replace ordinances promulgated during the inter-session period.

Legislations and private members' bills will be taken up on December 21 before the House adjourns sine die.

The government will also introduce the second supplementary budget in the House tomorrow and get it passed the next day.

Opposition leaders have been demanding a longer winter session.

During discussion on the budget, the opposition parties are looking to corner the government on issues like law and order and farmers' woes.

Congress lawmakers said issues like Bulandshahr violence in which an inspector was shot dead, besides "delay in payment of cane arrears of farmers and corruption in recruitment drive" will be raised by the opposition during the session.

At an all-party meeting yesterday, the chief minister appealed to the opposition parties for smooth conduct of the House. "The government is ready to discuss all issues that the opposition feels are important for the development of the state."