Gujarat assembly speaker pulls up MLAs for indiscipline in House

AHMEDABAD: On Tuesday, Gujarat assembly saw speaker Vaju Vala in the role of a disciplinarian telling house members how to conduct themselves during House proceedings. In the middle of the afternoon session, Vala got up from his chair and told members that he had to say something on discipline in the assembly.

The first thing he pointed out was that members speaking in the House should not read a written statement. "You can refer to a paper only when you have to quote a figure," he said, pointing out that if members continued with the practice of reading from a written statement they would never be able to argue.

He also expressed his displeasure at members moving around in the House when another member was speaking during a discussion. Members should refrain from seat hopping, chatting and moving around when the House is in progress, the Speaker said. Vala further said that if they want to convey something to someone, they can write it down on a slip and take the help of a peon to send it to the member concerned.

He also expressed his reservation at someone taking a photograph from one of the galleries. He asked the person who had clicked the photograph to delete it. Photography inside the assembly is prohibited.