MLAs should spend time in library: Khanna

Taking a dig at a member of the UP Assembly, parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said MLAs should spend time in the Vidhan Bhawan library to enrich their knowledge so that the level of debates in the House could be improved.

Speaking in the Assembly on Wednesday, Khanna said questions regarding the activities of the rural development department were referred to the panchayati raj department by an MLA. “Legislators should know that both are different departments and have separate establishments in the secretariat,” he said.

“In the next session of the assembly, there should be a discussion on the Constitution for a day. It will increase the knowledge of MLAs and send a message to the people as well. The matters that are raised in the House should be correct,” Khanna said.

‘Knock on CM’s doors to get JPNIC opened‘

Khanna advised a Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA to “knock on the doors [of chief minister Yogi Adityanath]” if he wanted that Jai Prakash Narayan International Center (JPNIC), which was built during the SP regime, be opened.

“The SP cannot force open the gates of the building,” Khanna said after SP MLA from Zamania Om Prakash Singh raised the issue of the closure of the iconic building since 2017, in the Assembly on Wednesday. The SP government built the multi-purpose convention center as a tribute to the contributions of socialist leader Jai Prakash Narayan to the freedom movement and against the Emergency, he said.

“Probe agencies have completed their investigation into the alleged irregularities in the construction of the building thrice. As much as 80% of the work in the building has been completed and the building has stayed closed for over eight years. The building showcases our legacy,” Singh added.

“The BJP government has sent the owner of the company that constructed the building to Rajya Sabha, but it seems that they are opposed to the ideals of the socialist leader. The state government should constitute a committee consisting of MLAs of the ruling and opposition parties. The government should rise above politics to give green signal to JPNIC,” Singh added.

Responding to the allegations, Khanna said Jai Prakash Narayan was respected by all parties. “Rather than raising the issue in the Assembly, the SP MLA should meet the CM to discuss the issue. You should knock on the doors [of the CM] and do not try to open the building with force. The SP has allied with the Congress party against which Jai Prakash Narain had launched a movement,” Khanna noted.