UP assembly adjourned sine die days ahead of counting of votes

Lucknow, May 9 (UNI) The session of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly, which continued amid assembly election, was today adjourned sine die two days before the counting of votes for the 15th assembly expected to be constituted by May 14.

The present session -- which began on January 18 -- met for a mere six times, including the one today.

The house was adjourned indefinitely after Samajwadi Party supremo and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav made his farewell speech to the house which was attended by SP legislators and some Independents. While the Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Congress have already boycotted the proceedings, the Bharatiya Janata Party too decided against attending the last day of the house to protest amendment to the Mohammed Ali Jauhar University Bill, 2005 to provide it with a minority status.

In his address, the CM claimed that his three-and-a-half year old government was a ''model government'' which worked for the all-round development of all sections of the society. On the just-concluded assembly election, Mr Yadav said the people had not voted against government as being claimed by opposition parties.

''I wish all the present legislators return to the house in the 15th assembly.'' Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey thanked all the members for their co-operation in the smooth functioning of the house.

The tenure of the present 14th assembly expires on May 14 and this is perhaps for the first time in the history of the state legislature that a bill was passed when the new assembly is expected to be constititued within next three days.

Counting of votes for all the seven phases of polling will be taken up on May 11.

Earlier, on criticism from opposition parties the state government had deferred the assembly session five times. The last sitting of the house, which started on January 18, was on March 12 when the house passed the vote-on-accounts for the first four months of the current financial year.

UNI