Assembly adjourned after 45 min functioning on sealing issue

New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) The Delhi Assembly was today adjourned after 45 minutes of functioning, soon after the House passed a resolution on putting the members' concern over the sealing issue before the Prime Minister by calling on him.

Before this, Speaker Prem Singh called an all-party meeting to discuss the situation in view of today's Supreme Court refusal to provide any relief to the traders over sealing in the Capital.

The meeting resolved to adjourn the House for the day and seek an appointment with the Prime Minister to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation and seek immediate cessation of the sealing drive.

But differences between the Congress and the BJP were seen when the resolution was put before the House, with the opposition raising slogans against the motion as ttheir Leader Jagdish Mukhi later told mediapersons that their demand for including a para on bringing an Ordinance to stop the sealing was not included in it.

However, with the Congress 'ayes' outnumbering the Opposition 'noes', the resolution was passed by the Speaker and the House was adjourned for the day.

Earlier, as the House began for the day Mr Mukhi raised the issue of public outcry following the Supreme Court verdict refusing permission to stop sealing in Delhi and sought adjournment of the House to express solidarity over this.

He even said the Opposition was willing to follow the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the 'march' to the Prime Minister's Office to express their collective concern over the matter.

Before this, while discussion on the sealing was being held Congress' Bheeshm Sharma walked out protesting the House's inability to deal with the situation and letting the Supreme Court run roughshod on issues concerning public interest.

After the House was adjourned Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ram Babu Sharma called the Congress decision of Sheila Dikshit meeting the PM on the sealing issue as 'illegitimate' saying the Congress Legislative Party meeting should have been called and then a decision taken on this.

He also parried questions on whether he would join the CM in meeting the PM on the issue and said ''We'll go after the CLP decides.'' On the other hand, the BJP decided to boycott the CM's 'team' to meet the PM as she was responsible for the sealing and raised slogans against the CM whom they described as 'Sealing Dikshit'.

''The Congress was playing politics and not serious about getting relief for the people. Had they been sincere about what they were saying, it would have been done by now,'' said Vijay Jolly of the BJP.

The onus is on them as they have their own government at all the three levels -- MCD, State and Centre, he added.

Mr Mange Ram Garg said they were bringing resolutions while ''we want Ordinance to stop the sealing immediately''.

Mr Mukhi later told the press that his party demanded that Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy 'walk the talk' on his earlier promise that he would call a special session of the parliament on the sealing issue and if needed even amendment in the Constitution would be made.

Contending that Master Plan 2021 alone would also not be useful, he said, ''A one-time amnesty be given through brining of an Ordinance and, under certain conditions, unauthorised contructions be regularised.'' We also want that sealing be stopped immediately as it affected the livelihood of lakhs of people in Delhi, he added.

Meanwhile, at the MCD meeting held at Town Hall, members while echoeing the sentiments of the legilators, raised a din demanding immediate action from the government.

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