UP Assembly to get digital gallery

Lucknow, Feb 17 A digital gallery will open in the state Legislative Assembly complex to give a virtual tour of its history to visitors.

The gallery is expected to open with the budget session of the state legislature, beginning on February 20.

UP Legislative Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana said, "A digital gallery is being set up in the state legislative complex to give a virtual tour depicting its history from January 5, 1887 when it was set up as the North Western Provinces and Oudh Legislative Council to the period when the state was known as United Provinces and when the state legislative Assembly came into existence as the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on March 8, 1952."

A brief history of the state legislature, as given on the state Legislative Assembly's website, indicates that the Legislative Council of North Western Provinces and Oudh was constituted with nine nominated members. It met for the first time on January 8, 1887 at the Thornhill Memorial Hall in Allahabad now renamed Prayagraj.

The Government of India Act 1935 proposed to make India a federation of the provinces and princely states and autonomy was proposed for the provinces.

The Legislative Council functioned as unicameral legislature in the state until March 1937. The provincial part of the Act came into operation from April 1, 1937.

The unicameral provincial legislature became bicameral along with five other provinces of British India. Its two chambers were called the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

Now the state Legislative Assembly, the Lower House, is a wholly elected body with 403 members while the Legislative Council, the Upper House, has 100 members.

Meanwhile, the state government has directed senior officers to ensure that the information provided to the MLAs and MLCs in response to questions and issues raised in the House is factually verified and there should be no doubt about its quality.

Principal secretary, parliamentary affairs, J.P. Singh, in a letter to all the divisional commissioners and district magistrates, has referred to the state government's directives given in this regard on September 9, 1998 and said the information provided to the members of the two Houses of the state legislature should be signed by the respective district magistrates.

"It has been felt in the past few sessions that the state government's directives in this regard are mostly not followed. I have been directed again to say that the state government's directives dated September 9, 1998 are strictly followed," said Singh in his letter.

The state government has proposed 14 sittings for the budget session that would begin with Governor Anandiben Patel's address before the joint sitting of the two Houses on February 20.

The state government also proposes to place before the state legislature the ordinances that have been promulgated after the Monsoon session of the House. These include the Uttar Pradesh Molasses Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2023.

On February 21, the state Legislative Assembly will be adjourned for the day after mourning the death of Apna Dal (S) sitting MLA Rahul Prakash Kol following an illness. He represented Mirzapur's Chhanbey Assembly constituency.

The state government proposes to present the annual budget for 2023-24 in the Assembly on February 22. The debate on motion of thanks to the governor's address will also begin the same day after presentation of the annual budget. The debate on the general budget for 2023-24 will begin on February 25.

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