Gujarat Assembly's budget session begun on a stormy note with the Opposition party forcing Governor O.P. Kohli to curtail his address amidst slogan shouting by the Congress MLAs, who demanded a judicial probe in the Kutch sex racket in which some local BJP members are allegedly involved.
The Opposition members came clad in black dress to protest the alleged gang rape of a 23-year-old woman, who named local BJP leaders among others as accused in the case.
"Beti Bachao, Balatkario se Bati Bachao (save daughters from rapists)" was the slogan the opposition members started souting as soon as the Governor started his customary address of the house on the inaugural day of the budget session.
The entire Opposition rushed to the wall shouting slogans and holding placards, forcing the Governor to curtail his address as he could not read his speech amid the din. Subsequently, he left the proceedings, placing his written speech on the table while Speaker Ramanlal Vora adjourned the house.
Subsequently, the House was again adjourned after it reconvened to transact the business. Again the members led by Leader of the Opposition rushed to the wall demanding that the government announce a judicial probe in the matter.
"Our demand is simple. Let a judicial probe by a sitting High Curt judge be announced by the government on Kutch sex racket because the victim has named BJP leaders in her FIR," leader of the opposition Shankarsinh Vaghela told the media after the opposition members were suspended from the proceedings for a day.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and other leaders condoled the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and other former members of the Gujarat assembly who passed away recently.
Meanwhile, outside the Assembly, Congress held a rally in Gandhinagar on the issue of deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
The rally was addressed by state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki, who accused the state administration of "protecting big names of the ruling party" in the gang rape and sex racket.
In an FIR filed in Kutch earlier this month, a 23-year-old woman had alleged that she was gang raped by at least nine men on different occasions about a year back. She alleged that the accused made a video of the act and raped her on several occasions by threatening to circulate the video clip.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case arrested eight men, who had allegedly gangraped the married woman.
Those who were arrested included four local BJP leaders, who were suspended from the party after their names cropped up in the FIR.
The woman alleged in her FIR that the accused used to run a sex racket in Kutch district and blackmail the victims.
