‘₹4L aid to kin of Hazaribagh blast casualties’

RANCHI: The Jharkhand government will give ₹4 lakh compensation to families of those killed in kerosine oil blasts that took place in February this year in Hazaribagh district, chief minister (CM) Hemant Soren announced in the state assembly on Tuesday.

Soren was replying to BJP lawmaker Manish Jaiswal’s concern on the issue. However the Hazaribagh MLA was not satisfied. “Why only ₹4 lakh?” he questioned, mentioning that the incident was not a disaster but accidental and should be probed and compensated adequately. Jaiswal said the government should compensate the injured as well.

Jaiswal went as far as squatting and lying down in the well of the House, pressing for adequate compensation to the blast victims and punishment to those responsible.

In February this year, five persons were killed on three different days and about a dozen were injured in separate blasts that were caused due to adulterated kerosene oil, officials said.

The BJP MLA’s question apart, the Assembly continued to witness pandemonium from the beginning, as the Speaker turned down the Opposition’s demand of admitting adjournment motions brought by BJP lawmakers on the state’s recruitment policy for the second consecutive day and other issues, as per the proceedings of the Assembly session.

Members of the Opposition went around the well creating a ring and also banged tables of Assembly officers to press for their demands.This compelled the Speaker to adjourn the House for half-an-hour till 12 noon.

When the House resumed, BJP legislator Nilkanth Singh Munda raised the issue of ‘love jihad’, while party MLA Anant Ojha sought debate on contractual labourers. Replying to Ojha, Congress leader and minister Alamgir Alam said the government will look into the matter.

In the second half, BJP legislator CP Singh tore away the government’s notification related to appointments of senate members of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee university. He lamented that his name was included and taken off later in two notifications, before tearing it off on the floor of the House.

Reacting, lawmaker Pradeep Yadav pleaded the Speaker to introduce a censure motion against Singh and debar him from Assembly proceedings throughout the budget session. A censure motion expresses a strong opinion of disapproval and is moved by the Opposition against a specific policy of the government or against a minister or against the whole council of ministers.

Speaking to media persons after the session, the CM said BJP lawmakers deliberately created disturbance to stall House business. The Assembly also debated the ₹7,323 crore second supplement demand of the government for the current fiscal that was tabled Monday. The money bill was passed through voice votes amid the boycott of the House by the BJP.