On the first day of the Monsoon Session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the House paid homage to former members, including gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were killed in police custody in Prayagraj. Atiq was a five-time MLA and Ashraf was elected twice. The Assembly paid tribute to a total of 12 former members—who passed away since the last meeting of the House—including former minister Harishankar Tiwari. The Assembly was embroiled in uproar on Monday regarding the violence in Manipur throughout the first day. The Opposition demanded a discussion on the Manipur violence in the Assembly and Council. Assembly Speaker Satiish Mahana and Council Chairman Manvendra Singh rejected this demand.
Former politician and gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in police custody in Prayagraj earlier this year on 15 April. Speaker Mahana, while paying tribute, stated that Ashraf had been elected as a Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA from Allahabad West in 2005. Meanwhile, Atiq Ahmed served as an MLA five times and had also been the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
Before the session commenced, an SP MLA arrived at the Assembly building wearing a garland of tomatoes. Subsequently, she began a protest in front of the statue of Chaudhary Charan Singh. At 11 am when the session began, SP, Congress, and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) legislators initiated an uproar around the Manipur violence. SP President Akhilesh Yadav mentioned that a discussion should be held on the Manipur violence. Speaker Mahana denied this request. Akhilesh claimed, “Just like in Manipur, fear has also crept into the minds of the daughters of UP.” He further urged that a discussion should be held over this. He suggested that a censure motion be brought against the violence in the UP Assembly, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should make a statement. Following this, SP and RLD legislators created a ruckus in the well of the House. Amidst the Opposition’s commotion, the Speaker managed to conduct proceedings for an hour and twenty-two minutes and adjourned the session until 11 am on Tuesday.
During the Assembly session, when Congress MLA Aradhana Mishra “Mona” demanded a discussion on the Manipur violence, the Speaker clearly stated that this is against the rules. In this way, some members of the Assembly might begin demanding discussions on the Kerala files, or the Rajasthan and West Bengal violence.
New rules were also introduced in the Assembly as the proceedings commenced. Several changes have been made to the Assembly rulebook. The language of the rulebook has been simplified, and changes have been made to the rules of question-and-answer sessions. With the implementation of the new rules, the agenda of the day and answers to all questions will be available to legislators on their devices until 10:30 am that day. The notice period in the old rulebook is 14 days, which has now been reduced to seven. Rules are also being formulated for legislators to be present virtually in the Assembly.
Before the Assembly proceedings began, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated in a conversation with journalists that the government is prepared for a healthy discussion on the state’s development and public issues. He mentioned that the government is also prepared to answer the queries of all parties’ members. He said that the issues related to the public should be raised in the Assembly.