Heated exchanges in Himachal Pradesh Assembly

He claimed that only political people including former ministers and MLAs got benefit from the Bill and it has nothing to do with the general public.

Heated exchanges were witnessed in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday over the issue of stopping the honorarium of Loktantra Prahari or those who were jailed during the Emergency imposed by the Congress government.

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur raised the issue through point of order after the Question Hour and asked when will the government restore their honorarium.

As the Speaker did not allow the Opposition to raise this issue, there was a ruckus in the House for some time. Thakur was later permitted by the Speaker to raise the matter.

Thakur said the leaders who fought for democracy were jailed during the Emergency and strict laws like Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) were imposed on them.

''A large number of people were kept in jail in Himachal Pradesh,'' the former chief minister said. He said that the previous government brought the Bill in the House and made it a law keeping in mind such people.

He said the number of people getting the ''nominal amount'' is less than 80 and asked the government as to how much financial burden was the amount causing.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said the government has withdrawn this Bill as it was ''completely political''. He claimed that only political people including former ministers and MLAs got benefit from the Bill and it has ''nothing to do with the general public''.