Privilege Committee records Jerath’s statement
Speaker asks Health Minister to verify AIG’s claim
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
Informed sources told Early Times that Speaker asked Minister incharge Health to check records to all hospitals to find whether the AIG Provision Aftab Kakroo’s mother was really admitted. As already reported in this newspaper, Speaker had on Monday slapped a notice of breach of privilege on Kakroo on account of his contemptuous behaviour towards the Legislature and its Presiding Officer.
The accused official had communicated through a team of Police Headquarters officials that he had not responded to telephonic calls of Speaker and Assembly Secretariat as his mother was ill and under treatment in a hospital. As the officials failed to produce any evidence of the accused official’s mother being under treatment, Speaker directed them to identify the hospital. Taking strong note of the Police official’s conduct, Speaker today asked Minister of Health to verify the AIG’s claim and report back to him by tomorrow.
Even after DGP’s instructions and repeated requisitions from Speaker, AIG Provisions has allegedly failed to either repair the Speaker’s bulletproof car or replace it by a brand new vehicle under DGP’s orders in the last five months. He allegedly did not respond to phone calls when Assembly Secretariat as well as Speaker himself attempted to talk to him on telephone for three consecutive days.
Speaker, meanwhile, referred the matter of disrespect to the BJP MLA Lal Chand, allegedly by Principal Secretary Health & Medical Education, Ravi Kulbhushan Jerath, to Assembly’s Privilege Committee. As reported in detail in a separate item in this newspaper, Speaker took the decision after members of all political parties agitated the matter at the beginning of Question Hour and demanded action against the accused bureaucrat.
On Speaker’s direction, Assembly Secretariat asked all members of the Privilege Committee, besides the complainant MLA, Lal Chand, and the accused bureaucrat, R K Jerath, through Chief Secretary to attend a meeting at 2.00 pm. Chairman of the committee and MLA from Doda, Abdul Majeed Wani, presided over the meeting that was held at the office of Deputy Speaker Mohammad sartaj Madni. While a member, Sajad Ahmed Kichloo, was absent, all others participated in the meeting. They included Mrs Indu Pawar, Messers Basharat Bukhari, Javed Mustaf Mir, Rafi Ahmed Mir (PDP), Kafeel-ur-Rehman (NC) and independent MLA, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rasheed.
Even as Assembly Secretariat, as well as Chairman Abdul Majeed Wani, repeatedly requested the complainant MLA to be present for recording of his principal statement, Mr Lal Chand refused to attend with the assertion that he could not attend it as long as members of different political parties were on protest in a show of solidarity with him.
Sources said that Mr Jerath’s statement in defence was recorded in today’s meeting. He has reportedly maintained that he had failed to recognize the MLA who, according to the accused, did not disclose his identity. The accused official is said to have offered his public apology “in case an honourable MLA has felt hurt with my behaviour”.
Sources said that Chairman Wani called another meeting of the committee at 9.00 a.m on Wednesday and yet again requested the complainant MLA to attend and get his statement recorded. It has been made clear to the complainant that the matter would bounce back on his head if he continuously chose to remain absent. The accused official is likely to be cross-examined by the committee members in Wednesday’s meeting. Sources said that a report would be submitted to Speaker before commencement of the day’s scheduled proceedings at Assembly tomorrow.
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