Amid uproarious scenes, Bihar assembly was adjourned three times today as Opposition MLAs stalled proceedings of the House over police lathicharge on rally led by the Lok Janshakti Party.
As the House sat for the day, agitated MLAs of Opposition parties including RJD, LJP, Congress and the Left waved photographs and news clippings and stormed the well of the House requesting Speaker Udai Narain Choudhary to accept the adjournment motion for a debate on what they alleged was “unprovoked and unwarranted” police action on LJP supporters during their agitation on Thursday.
As many as 12 LJP workers, including MLAs Pashupati Kumar Paras, Maheshwar Prasad Singh and Achutanand, were injured in the police lathicharge while they were marching towards the state assembly to protest Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s attempt to “divide the society in the name of Dalits and Mahadalits”, officials said.
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As the slogan-shouting continued unabated, the speaker adjourned the House till 11.42 am, hardly 12 minutes after it sat. The Opposition created similar scenes when the House reassembled before the lunch recess forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House again.
The House reassembled at 12.30 hours again when the Speaker rejected the adjournment motion and after taking a slated business adjourned the house till after lunch.
Later, talking to reporters, RJD deputy leader in state assembly Shakeel Ahmed Khan, its MLA and former minister Ramchandra Purve, LJP leader Maheshwar Prasad Singh accused the state government of “trying to gag the voice of Opposition.”
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“We wanted a debate and action against the police officials responsible for the lathicharge,” they said.
State LJP president Pashupati Paras accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of “dividing the society on caste lines”.
Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi, during his brief intervention, accused the Opposition of “enacting drama” in the House over the issue of Mahadalits. “RJD was in power for more than 15 years, but not a single step was taken by the party reach benefits to mahadalits and now when we are trying to improve their lot, we are being criticised,” he alleged.
The Opposition created similar chaos post the lunch-recess, keeping up the slogan shouting in the well of the house. The Speaker then allowed Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister S K Modi to present the second supplementary budget of Rs 2784.79 crore for 2009-10 and the adjourned the House till Monday.