RANCHI: The Jharkhand Assembly witnessed chaotic scenes on the third day of the supplementary monsoon session, as ruling Congress MLAs disrupted proceedings with slogans against the Central government. In an unusual incident, the stairs of the House where the opposition is supposed to raise slogans against the government, the ruling party itself was seen protesting against the Centre.
As soon as the House started, MLAs of the ruling parties trooped into the Well of the House protesting against the Bihar special intensive revision (SIR). The BJP legislators also followed them into the Well, demanding a CBI probe into the Surya Hansda 'encounter' death case.
Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato repeatedly appealed to both sides to allow the House to function and let Question Hour proceed. Despite his efforts, both the Opposition and ruling party members remained adamant on their demands, leading to another deadlock in the Assembly.
With slogans "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor” (Vote Thief, Leave the Chair), the Congress legislators staged a noisy protest, forcing Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato to adjourn the House till 12 pm. As soon as the proceedings began at 12 pm, both the ruling party and the opposition created a ruckus during the zero hour.
Looking at the ruckus, the Speaker considered the Zero-Hour notices as read and adjourned the proceedings of the House till 2 pm. After this, the proceedings of the House began again. As the House reassembled at noon, Congress leaders raised the SIR issue again.
State BJP chief and Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi alleged that the government was "looting" tribal lands. He also alleged that tribal farmers' lands were being forcibly acquired by the government for the RIMS-2 hospital project in Ranchi's Nagri.
"Our demands are a CBI probe into the Surya Hansda 'encounter' and return of land to farmers," said Marandi. Congress is raising the SIR issue only to dilute the state's burning issues, he claimed.
Notably, the day’s session had been scheduled for a special discussion on the plight of farmers whose crops have been damaged by incessant rain. Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey was due to present a detailed report on the losses and outline the state government’s relief measures.
Besides agriculture, several important bills had been lined up for introduction. The Speaker, however, validated the tabling of these bills despite the disruptions before announcing the adjournment. However, the uproar prevented the discussion from taking place.
The morning proceedings were due to begin with Question Hour, covering issues from multiple departments, including Urban Development and Housing, Revenue and Land Reforms, Road Construction, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, and Drinking Water and Sanitation. But persistent sloganeering by Congress legislators derailed the schedule.