Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto on Tuesday suspended four BJP legislators for “showing disrespect” to the Chair till Thursday, the penultimate day of the six-day monsoon session that ends on Friday.
The action followed an uproar in the House as BJP legislators entered the Well soon after the House convened on Tuesday, demanding resignation of chief minister Hemant Soren and a discussion on “rampant corruption” in the state.
Despite repeated requests from the Speaker, din prevailed in the House as BJP legislators resorting to sloganeering. The House was adjourned for around 40 minutes in the first half.
As the House reconvened, BJP chief whip Biranchi Narayan demanded discussion on corruption. “The state is getting a bad name with regular reports of loot of coal, stone chips and sand across the state. The Assembly representative of CM has been arrested. His press adviser has been summoned for questioning. We request you to allow a discussion on the ongoing rampant corruption,” said Narayan.
BJP legislators, meanwhile, continued their protest and sat on floor of the Well even as Bhawnathpur MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi started addressing the legislators with his back before the Speaker’s chair.
Taking exception to the act, the Speaker order suspension of the four MLAs — JP Patel, Randhir Singh and Dhullu Mahto and Shahi. He adjourned the House soon after.
In the second half, BJP legislators questioned the suspension, saying Patel was not even present in the House when the alleged incident happened. The Speaker said he would look into the facts but refused to revoke their suspension.
As a protest, BJP legislators entered the Well again, with two legislators, Manish Jaiswal and Amar Bahri, scaling the reporters’ table. Other legislators stood with their back behind as a mark of protest and demanded all of them should be suspended.
The Speaker then ordered the two legislators to be marshalled out for standing on the table. All BJP legislators walked out in protest.
“There is rampant corruption in the state. But this government does not even allow us to raise the issue. They suspended one MLA who was not even present in the House. We will continue to corner this government both inside and outside the Assembly till we uproot them from power,” said BJP legislature party leader Babulal Marandi.
