PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Vidhan Sabha secretariat has taken a strong exception to the breach of protocol of speaker Ritu Khanduri in the invitation for the State-level Independence Day programme at Parade Ground on August 15.
The officiating secretary of Vidhan Sabha Hem Pant has written a letter to chief secretary Anand Bardhan in which he has said that the speaker was invited by the administration in the Independence Day programme but she was not accorded the necessary protocol in the seating arrangement.
He said that the speaker holds a constitutional position and the seating arrangement is an insult to the position she holds. Pant said that the speaker has also expressed her displeasure on the issue and it would not be proper for her to attend the ceremony.
He said that the necessary action should be taken in breach of protocol of the Speaker. It is learnt that the CS has sought a report from the secretary Information and district magistrate of Dehradun on the issue. If sources are to be believed, the local administration has stated that the speaker’s office had expressed her inability to attend the event on Parade Ground in advance.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has criticised the administration for breach of protocol to the speaker. The leader of opposition in Vidhan Sabha Yashpal Arya said that the speaker is a constitutional position and necessary protocol should be given to the person donning the position. Arya said that he himself has faced similar humiliation on many occasions in the past when necessary protocol due to him was not given.
