Shimla, Sept. 3 -- The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Tuesday passed the Himachal Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2025, bringing in strict measures to curb paper leaks and malpractices in recruitment examinations. The legislation, introduced by chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday, was passed unanimously by voice vote on Tuesday. The new law makes offences related to paper leaks, organised cheating, and other unfair means in public examinations cognisable and non-bailable. Under the provisions of the bill, anyone found guilty of cheating, abetting cheating, or leaking papers will face a minimum of three years and up to five years imprisonment along with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. Both punishment and fine can also be imposed simultaneously.In cases where service providers are found guilty of malpractice, the law provides for a penalty of up to Rs 1 crore. Additionally, all expenses incurred on such examinations will be recovered from them, and they will be barred for four years from conducting any recruitment test. Directors or employees of such service providers could face imprisonment between three and ten years if found complicit. An uproar was witnessed in the Himachal assembly on Tuesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government of "deliberately withholding information". Protesting the delay on the part of the state government in furnishing information to queries raised by legislators, the opposition MLAs left the House on Thursday raising slogans against the government. The commotion erupted after the state government said that "information is being collected" to the query by BJP MLA from Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma, regarding the money provided by Kangra State Cooperative Bank to women self-help groups in Dehra between June 1 and July 10, 2024. The opposition raised objection to the reply saying that the information was deliberately being withheld. Even as the government told the assembly that "information is being collected," Ashish Sharma has received the information under RTI that he placed in the House. Speaker Kuldeep Pathania tried to pacify the opposition by stating that the information would be furnished to the chief minister by the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, and he would share it with Ashish Sharma after reviewing it. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jai Ram Thakur said it is the first time in the history of Himachal Vidhan Sabha that a question is listed in the business but is abruptly removed. "Yesterday the Speaker assured that the reply would be furnished tomorrow, but now it has again been stated that information is still being collected," he said. "It is the first time that the MLA who is asking the question of the government is providing the information. As such, he should be allowed to ask supplementary questions," said the LoP. The speaker said the government has stated that information is being collected, so under the Rules, he had deferred the question. "Since you insisted, I listed the question for today, but information is still being collected. A supplementary question is not the fundamental right of any member, but if the Speaker feels it is the outcome of a question, he can allow or refuse," Pathania said. The Speaker said that when Members are not satisfied with the reply of the CM or ministers, they can resort to Rule 61. One Member has no right to bulldoze the Speaker, proceedings, and the house and waste everyone's time, said Pathania. As the Speaker denied supplementary questions on Sharma's query, the BJP MLAs resorted to sloganeering and left the house in protest. The CM condemned the behaviour of the opposition while stating that the BJP is trying to make headlines and there is no justification for their protest. Later talking to the media, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said, "During the Dehra byelection, Congress violated the code of conduct and transferred Rs 50,000 each to 66 Mahila Mandals through Kangra State Cooperative Bank. Talking to the media after the conclusion of the Monsoon session on Tuesday, Sukhu said, "Despite our financial constraints, there will be no shortage of funds for disaster-affected families." The monsoon session ended with the passage of three bills, including measures to curb corruption, improve recruitment transparency, and strengthen disaster relief provisions. Sukhu said, "The state has witnessed extremely heavy rainfall over the last two days, leading to multiple landslides, loss of lives, and destruction of homes. The Assembly has declared Himachal Pradesh as a disaster-affected state." He urged the Opposition to jointly approach the Centre for a special relief package. "Our hydropower projects benefit the country, and in this crisis, project operators should also come forward to help affected families," he said. The CM also sought cheaper air connectivity under the Centre's UDAN scheme for Himachal to aid travel and disaster response. Congress MLAs have submitted a notice of breach of privilege against BJP MLA from Dharmashala, Sudhir Sharma to the Speaker of the Assembly on Tuesday as the monsoon session concluded. Congress alleged that Sudhir Sharma has tried to tarnish the image of the Chief Minister and spread misleading propaganda. The letter submitted to the speaker pointed out that Sharma had shared his letter written to the Speaker of the Assembly on social media. Congress MLAs say that this step is a violation of the tradition and constitutional status of the Assembly. They argue that it was inappropriate to make it public until the Speaker of the Assembly decides whether to send the letter to the Privilege Committee or not. Pathania on Tuesday said the just-concluded monsoon session recorded a productivity rate of 98% higher than many other state assemblies and even the Lok Sabha. Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, Pathania said, "The session had 60 hours of allotted time, of which the House utilised 59 hours. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly is known for the depth and seriousness of its debates". Over two dozen hydel power projects owe the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) Rs 1,177.89 crore for surveys, investigations and preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs). This was shared by Sukhu in the Assembly on Tuesday during Question Hour in response to the query by Congress MLA from Shahpur, Kewal Singh Pathania. Sukhu said the pending amount includes Rs 874.69 crore from the Baspa II hydel project alone. "The delay in recovery is mainly due to the lack of consensus on the interest rate to be charged," he added. Sukhu said the state government would not compromise on protecting the interests of the state and top lawyers had been engaged to plead Himachal's case in getting its legitimate claims with various power producers settled. "Top lawyers have been engaged to plead Himachal's case for getting back Shanan project which will be heard by the Supreme Court on September 17 and the case for getting pending arrears from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) will be heard by the apex court on September 10," Sukhu said....