Uproar in House as Speaker junks adjournment plea
State’s finance minister Rameshwar Oraon tables second supplementary budget for financial year 2021-22 of ₹7,323 crore
BJP LAWMAKERS CAME DOWN TO THE WELL OF THE HOUSE, DEMANDING ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE, THEREBY STALLING QUESTION HOUR
RANCHI: Disorder prevailed in the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday as the Speaker turned down adjournment motions of the Opposition for House debate on chief minister Hemant Soren government’s decision to withdraw state recruitment policy, besides the issue of reservation for backward communities and infiltration in Santhal Pargana region.
Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato was taking up the question of AJSU party legislator Lambodar Mahto and Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh on the issue of reservation for backwards classes, when BJP lawmakers intervened more than once, demanding to admit the adjustment motions.
Besides demanding women representation in state backward commission, Deepika said Bihar and Tamil Nadu have raised reservation for backward classes.
However, the House was in complete chaos, as BJP lawmakers continued shouting.
While attempting to pacify the Opposition, parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam said the government was ready to give a reply if the lawmakers raise questions through the call attention motion. He said the government would look into issues pertaining to reservation by setting up a committee.
However, BJP lawmakers Amar Bauri, Randhir Singh, Neera Yadav, Bhanu Praratap Sahi, and Aparna Sengupta, joined by party chief whip Biranchi Narayan kept on demanding to admit the adjustment motions.
The Speaker turned down their appeals, saying that the issues could be taken up separately on other days during the month-long budget session. However, it fell on deaf ears, as the BJP lawmakers came down to the well of the House, demanding adjournment of the House, thereby stalling question hours.
The BJP legislators also raised slogans against the state government. Failing to bring the House in order, the Speaker adjourned the House till 12.30pm.
Speaking to media persons later, Bauri said the government shut the doors for lakhs of aspirants by withdrawing the state’s recruitment policy. He also questioned the state government’s moving the Supreme Court to challeng the previous government’s policy, if the former wanted to scrap it.
Meanwhile, CPI (ML) Liberation legislator Binod Singh termed the state government’s move as duality, adding that the policy scrapping was uncalled for.
Another BJP MLA Anant Ojha raised the issue of rising crime in the state due to infiltration. “People feel insecure,” he said.
On the other hand , JMM legislators Mathura Prasad Mahto and Sarfaraz Ahmad said the Opposition should have maintained the House decorum. The government does not shy away from answering questions, but the Opposition should raise it properly, they said.
After the House resumed at 12.30pm, it witnessed uproars once again soon after, as the BJP lawmakers continued to press for their demands. Finding no way out, the Speaker took up the legislative business amid the din and asked the government to table the supplementary budget.
Finance minister Rameshwar Oraon tabled the ₹7,323 crore second supplementary demand for the current fiscal amid the commotion.
The maximum supplementary demand was for the energy department (₹2,767.50 crore), water resources (₹352 crore), rural development (₹995 crore), health (₹503.88 crore), labour and employment (₹83.98 crore) and agriculture (₹164 crore).
BJP stages walk-out during House debate on thanksgiving motion
BJP leaders staged a walk-out from the Assembly on Monday while the House debated on the thanksgiving motion on the Governor’s address on the opening day of the budget session.
“It is bundle of lies, we don’t want to debate on it,” said BJP lawmakers Amar Bauri and Randhir Singh, while leading boycott on the motion moved by JMM legislator Sarfaraz Ahmad.
Veteran BJP MLA CP Singh before leaving the House suggested the Speaker to delete the word lies and replace it with “false”. The word lies is unparliamentary, he said.
Debating on the ‘expression of the government’s desire’ that Governor Draupadi Murmu outlined in her address on Friday, lawmakers of the ruling partners of JMM-led coalition government mentioned that it was a big challenge to perform in the pandemic and thanked leadership of chief minister Hemant Soren to steer the state out of the crisis.
Introducing the motion Sarfaraz Ahmad said the work done in bringing the migrant workers was praiseworthy.
He underlined that preparation of 15 lakh new ration cards that was underway, proposal for making Giridih as a solar city, pasudhan yojana and new medical colleges would benefit the people.
Congress legislator Rajesh Kachhap lauded the decision of increasing the MNREGA wages (from Rs 194 to Rs 225) from own exchequer was a milestone. He said the Birsa harit gram yojana and Nilambar-Pitambar jalchajan yojana was changing the face of rural Jharkhand.
Independent legislator Saryu Roy too heaped praise on Hemant’s leadership and said the schemes launched manifest the government’s intention. The dhoti-saree yojana and proposed solar city project found special mention.
He, however, urged the government to focus on local administrative system that has been bugging the state.
He was critical of the ODF++ status of steel city Jamshedpur, which he represents in the Assembly, and said most of the public toilets built are closed. He said the government should look into the matter.
Giving reply, parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam said the coalition government led by Hemant Soren would look into suggestions made by the lawmakers.
He said the government was focused on rural development, MNREGA works and safe drinking water.
Each panchayat would have five tubewells, he said, and mentioned that about 8 lakh mandays were created in past few months .