Mangaluru: Passing the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address without a reply from the Prime Minister amounts to a violation of the rules of the House, said MLC Ivan D’Souza.Addressing a press conference, the Congress leader said that the Prime Minister, who is the head of the govt, is expected to explain the govt’s position at the end of the discussion on the Motion of Thanks. “The Prime Minister has the responsibility to inform the House if he is unable to do so. Skipping the address on the advice of the Lok Sabha Speaker is a blot on democracy. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reportedly advised that MPs might attempt to create disorder. If the Prime Minister has no safety inside Parliament, what about the people? Can the Prime Minister, who wants to become ‘Vishwaguru’, claim that he cannot reply in Parliament?” the MLC questioned.
He said that the governor of Karnataka also failed to read the full speech prepared by the Cabinet. Drawing a parallel to two instances, the MLC alleged that those were attempts to weaken democracy.MCF’s name retainedD’Souza welcomed the decision to retain the name Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers (MCF) on the nameboard of Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL).He said that following the united protests by the MCF workers’ union, citizens of the district and elected representatives, the management now retained the name of MCF along with its new name on the nameboard. He said the issue was raised with the DC and also inside the legislative council.
