MP Assy moots half-day working on Fridays

Bhopal, Feb 15 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh Assembly is considering half-days' working every Friday to enable members to leave early for weekend visits to their constituencies.

Speaker Ishwardas Rohani said that the proposal was under consideration for conducting every Friday's House proceedings from 0900 to 1400 hours.

''It will be placed before the Rules Committee. It has been usually observed that attendance is relatively low on Fridays as members are keen to reach their respective constituencies for spending the weekends there. Such a system may be implemented from the monsoon session,'' he told UNI.

Claiming that there was no clash between the executive and the judiciary, Mr Rohani added that there was no question of any confrontation as the Constitution defined the jurisdiction and rights of every pillar of democracy.

''As India is a colossal democracy, certain occasions make it seem as if the three wings are not concurring. The Supreme Court's upholding the Lok Sabha's decision to expel ten MPs in the cash-for-query scam is an example of mutual deference,'' he felt.

The Speaker welcomed the apex court's historic ruling holding 13 Uttar Pradesh MLAs, who quit the Bahujan Samaj Party on August 27, 2003, guilty of violating the Anti-Defection Law.

''Every political party should have a reserved quota for intellectuals as it is imperative for such persons to enter the political arena in large numbers,'' he added.

UNI