Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Sunday held a special sitting to mark the 125th year of the state legislature with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav making an appeal to carry forward the dignity of the House.
Addressing the House, he said it was responsibility of all members to carry forward the dignity of the House.
"UP has been a centre of socio-political change. The message which goes from its assembly is important and brings change in the politics of the country," he said.
"I seek co-operation from all and I assure that UP is a state which can progress in every field," the chief minister said on the first day of the three-day special sitting.
The path on which SP government is moving confidence of the people has increased. The people have faith in this house, he said.
Vidhan Sabha speaker Mata Prasad Pandey said that a number of revoluntionary decisions, including zamidari abolition, were taken in UP Vidhan Sabha.
"Today when there is turbulence in several parts of the country over land, there is peace in UP. This house has passed a number of acts which pave way for equality and development," he said.
Pandey said no other house has the honour of giving three Prime Ministers, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, V P Singh and Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Former chief minister Narain Dutt Tiwari said that public representatives should run the country and the state like a "karmyogi".
"To run UP properly was equivalent to running a country," he said.
"Legislators, in fact all the public representatives, should run the country and the state with "tapasya" like karmyogis," Tiwari said while addressing the joint session of Vidhan Sabha.
"UP has a great history we should remember it," he said.
"All the acts prepared by the British were merely lolipop. It was prepared to weaken the struggle for freedom," he said.
The former UP CM said changes should be made in textbooks as they not have full account of the history of freedom struggle.
Tiwari said that future generations must be told that sacrifices were made to gain independence in the last 125 years.
Addressing the house, Governor B L Joshi while congratulating the members of both the houses for completing 125 years said that UP Vidhan Sabha has a glorious history.
"I hope that all members would maintain the dignity of the house and will take it forward," he said.
Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya said that ruling and opposition parties were not opponents, but complimented each other.
The house meets to discuss the problems of the people and debate them, he said.
Leader of BJPLP Hukkum Singh said that though the Vidhan Sabha has a glorious past, but there were some "black spots" as well.
He said that the members should take resolve not to disrupt the house unnecessarily and the government should also not make an effort to gets its agenda passed forcibly.
On the occasion, three veteran members of the first house of UP after independence in 1952, including N D Tiwari, Raja Ram Kisan and Kamal Ahmad Rizvi were felicitated.
PTI
