BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Budget Session of the Assembly was adjourned sine die on Saturday, 14 important Assembly committees could not be formed as the ruling BJD failed to take on board the Opposition Congress. The Assembly committees on Public Accounts, Public Undertakings, Estimates and the 10 department-related standing committees function as the watchdogs of the Assembly and play an important role in exercising a check over government expenditure and policy formulation. As per the parliamentary procedure and practice, Speaker of the Assembly announces the formation of these committees on the last day of the budget session. The tenure of these committees is one year. Appropriation of Government accounts and examination of the audit reports presented by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the Assembly are the two important functions of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), while the department-related standing committees examined the grants made for the department concerned. “This is unprecedented. Such an aberration was never noticed before in the history of the Odisha Assembly,” Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan told mediapersons. Alleging that the ruling party has no respect for parliamentary democracy, Harichandan said that the Government is repeatedly violating parliamentary practices and rules of business.Dismissing the Opposition allegations, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty said that the constitution of an Assembly committee is not part of the business of the House. As per the procedure, these House committees are constituted every year from among the members through election based on proportional representation. However, the practice of conducting election has been discontinued for more than a decade now. The Finance committee and department- related standing committees are constituted through mutual understanding between the ruling and Opposition parties, he said. Informed sources said that the 14 Assembly committees could not constituted as the Government failed to accommodate the Congress demands for giving more representation to its members. The Congress is reportedly demanding nomination of more of its members in the statutory committees. The Minister said that due representation to Congress was given in the Finance and Standing committees. The Congress has four members each in the 14 committees while the ruling party has 8 each. It is custom that Leader of Opposition is appointed chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Mohanty said adding that three other committees, including Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, are being headed by members from the ruling party.
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