Rajasthan 1st time MLAs to be taken to Mt Abu for training

Hyderabad, Sept 14 :

 It is the call of Mount Abu in Rajasthan. The road leading to Madhuban, the seat of Brahmakumaris World Spiritual University, through the ravines and gorges from Abu Road, situated at a height of over 2000 metres above sea level is soon becoming a pilgrimage for the MLAs of Rajasthan too.

 The tourist resort of the erstwhile Chauhan dynasty and that of the British-Raj, Mt Abu is also a pilgrimage centre for both Hindus and Jains alike. Euphemistically though, this spiritual journey is being planned by none other than the Assembly Speaker, Mr Deependra Singh Shekhawat, soon.

Speaking to TNN here on Monday against the backdrop of his visit to the most famous Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, the Speaker said, 108 legislators in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly are first-timers. These MLAs were to be trained in legislative procedures, conventions of the House besides being oriented in meditation and statecraft in June. However, the scheduled training planned earlier in the discipline of mental faculties and House procedures had to be put off following the death of veteran Rajasthani leader and the then Assam Governor Shiv Charan Mathur in June last, Shekhawat revealed. The legislators are also scheduled to visit the Brahmakumari Spiritual University as part of the programme.

Presently, Shekhawat is on a five-day tour of Andhra Pradesh leading a delegation of 15 legislators from Rajasthan Assembly, including Government Chief Whip Virendra Beniwal, MLAs O.P Yadav, Mamta Bhupesh, Om Joshi, Surendraji Jadawat, C.L Premji, Karan Singh Rathod, Mahavir Prasad Mauka, Ratan Devasi, Allauddin Azad, Devi Singhji Bhat, Rao Rajendra Singh and Ganeshwar Tiwari, among others.

Earlier, the team visited the Centre for Good Governance (CGG) and the National Informatic Centre at Hyderabad which digitalized the electronic payment of wages to labourers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) in the state.

Post Master General of Hyderabad region, Ms Usha  Chandra Sekhar and Chief Information Commissioner CD Adda explained to the visiting legislators the successful implementation of the RTI Act and the intricacies governing the payment of wages to the labourers, which is ``free from corruption and foolproof’’.

On the methods adopted in Rajasthan, Shekhawat said the wages to labourers are paid through the cooperative societies and Cooperative banks in Rajasthan. ``We need to emulate the Andhra Pradesh module,’’ he felt.