LUCKNOW As the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly is set to change its rulebook for the first time in 65 years, many of the jargons are expected to be made simpler while several other words will have a revised meaning. For instance, after the new rulebook is adopted, tabling a budget, a bill, a petition, or any other report on the floor of the state legislative assembly would not just mean presenting it in the House but also uploading the document.
The new rulebook is likely to adopted by the assembly in the Monsoon session of the House. Sharing further details, Pradeep Dubey, principal secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, said, “Yes, existing jargons may be replaced completely when the state assembly adapts the new rule book. We are going to make everything easy for lawmakers by ensuring that the new rule book has very simple words. This is the first time that any state legislative assembly is rewriting rules in the country.”
Interestingly, barring a few amendments, with the last one carried out in 2019, no changes have taken place in the rulebook over the years. On being asked if any rules would be changed as part of the exercise, Dubey added, “We are not changing any rules. We are rewriting the rules for a new rulebook.” Dubey chairs a 12-member committee constituted to work on the new rulebook which has already filed its recommendations.
“The House will adopt the recommendations once finalised. As and when needed, we are seeking guidance from chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Suresh Khanna, the minister for parliamentary affairs. Parallelly, speaker Satish Mahana is holding consultations with leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav and leaders of other political parties,” said Dubey. He said principal secretary parliamentary affairs, JP Singh, is also being consulted.
To recall, a need to rewrite the rulebook — The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the Business of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly-2023 — was apparently felt when Atul Pradhan, a Samajwadi Party lawmaker, used his mobile to telecast proceedings of the state legislative assembly on Facebook Live on December 6, 2022. Taking cognisance, speaker Satish Mahana asked him to leave the House immediately while calling his act improper.
It is important to note that Pradhan’s act did not technically violate any provision of the state assembly’s rulebook as there is no provision against telecasting proceedings on television or social media channels. This is because the television was introduced in India in 1959 while the first U.P. assembly was formed in 1952.
Even as the proceedings of the Uttar Pradesh assembly are being telecast live for some years now, the House began using the electronic devices — including the tablets — only in 2022 following the introduction of National e-Vidhan Application. In this backdrop, the new rulebook will have provisions for uploading the annual budget, the governor’s address, notices and other important documents online.
Several provisions regarding expunging certain items from the proceedings of the House, which have been telecast once, are also being considered. The new rulebook will also provide for changing the time of question hour to afternoon in cases of pandemonium or adjournment of the House. It will also define the scope of the zero hour. Further, receiving questions online from the members is also being considered.
Additionally, lawmakers, as per the new rulebook, will be entitled to submit questions for the next session after the adjournment of the House sine die. The existing rules provide for receiving questions for the next session from members only after the House is prorogued.
