If on Monday the Bharatiya Janata Party staged a dharna in the well of the Assembly till late in the night, on Tuesday the Congress members trooped into the well and stayed put till the House was adjourned for the day. They were protesting against Monday’s lathicharge against the Congress MLAs when they tried to lay siege to the Vidhan Sabha.
The House remained adjourned for the whole of question hour owing to the disruption by the Congress MLAs. In the midst of the bedlam, the Supplementary Budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal presented by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday was passed within three minutes.
Describing the police action as ‘murder of democracy’, Congress Legislature Party leader Pradeep Mathur demanded a judicial probe. The demand was supported by the Congress members.
Slogans and banners
When the House was adjourned by Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey, the Congress members, wearing black bands, sat in dharna in the well. They returned to their seats when obituary references were taken up after the question hour, but trooped back into the well raising banners coupled with full-throated slogans against the Samajwadi Party government. With the Congress members continuing with the sloganeering, the Speaker remarked: “Aapki baat Dilli tak pahunch gayi” (it has reached Delhi).
The Chief Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohammad Azam Khan were not present in the House.
Extend session: BJP
During zero hour, Laxmikant Bajpai of the BJP said the session should be extended as several important issues related to the law and order situation, crimes against women, power problems, Yadav Singh case (the Noida chief engineer suspended on corruption charges) and Anil Yadav issue [the U.P. Public Service Commission chairman who is allegedly facing criminal cases] needed to be debated.
BJP Legislature Party leader Suresh Kumar Khanna said that under the rules, the Assembly should be in session for 90 days in a year. The ongoing monsoon session should be for 10 days, he said.
Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ambika Chaudhary, however, credited the Samajwadi Party government with holding the maximum sittings of the House over 20 years. The Minister accused the BJP and the Congress of not wanting to discuss issues.
As bedlam continued the Supplementary Budget was passed by voice vote. The House was again adjourned.
Congress seeks probe into Monday’s lathicharge
