In Vidhan Parishad, Opposition demands judicial probe

Opposition members in the Vidhan Parishad on Tuesday expressed concern over the discovery of the powerful explosive PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate)in the state assembly on July 12.

They demanded all possible steps to ensure the security of the Vidhan Bhavan.

Congress members Dinesh Pratap Singh and Deepak Kumar demanded the government order an inquiry by a senior sitting judge of the Allahabad high court, instead of going for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Samajwadi Party’s Bharrudra Prakash supported the demand for the judicial probe.

Several members raised a question about the ‘undue’ checking of members after discovery of PETN in the assembly.

Teachers group members Om Prakash Sharma said only Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad marshals, and not the police, could frisk members in the House.

Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Chaudhary Mustaq raised the issue of a supposedly absconding Barabanki criminal, booked under the NDPS Act, walking freely in the Vidhan Sabha corridors on July 14. Vidhan Parishad chairman Ramesh Yadav asked the government to look into the matter.

Earlier, during question hour, Dhruv Kumar Tripathi of the teachers’ group demanded a high-level inquiry into expenditure on repair of the estate department’s guesthouses and MLAs’ hostels.

Continuing with the speech that he had begun on the budget on July 14, leader of opposition Ahmad Hasan said the government had reduced spending on various development projects in its first budget.

He said the government was not able to deliver on the law and order front.

Incidents of loot, kidnapping and murder were increasing but criminals were not being nabbed, he said.

The Bahujan Samaj Party’s Sunil Chittod said the budget had no provision to improve the lot of the poor. He accused the government of spreading communalism in the society.