The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Friday witnessed a brief adjournment following uproar by opposition Congress members over the alleged suicide by a national-level Kabaddi player by consuming pesticide in a tribal hostel in Dhar district last year.
Raising the matter through a calling attention notice, Surendra Singh ‘Honey’ Baghel (Cong) said the girl was being harassed by the husband of the hostel superintendent. He sought to know how the girl found pesticide in the hostel.
In his reply, Tribal Welfare and Scheduled Castes Welfare Gyan Singh denied that the girl had consumed pesticide inside the hostel but at her house in her native village, Dharmrai, where she had gone after taking leave for two days.
He said an order was issued by the district panchayat’s chief executive officer dismissing hostel superintendent Sonal Solanki for not informing her senior officers and being negligent and casual with respect to her duties. Solanki made a representation before the appellate officer in this regard. She was reinstated following the hearing and posted at government school in Sidadi.
The member demanded that the hostel superintendent’s husband, who is a physical training instructor (PTI) at the hostel, should be removed from the post. However, the Minister said the PTI was removed but he had obtained a stay from the court.
Dissatisfied with Singh’s reply, several Congress members created ruckus in the House. Deputy leader of Opposition Bala Bachchan said the atmosphere in the hostel was not conducive for studies. Speaker Sitasharan Sharma said the Minister has informed the House that the PTI has obtained stay from the court. However, Congress members continued to create uproar forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for five minutes.
When the House re-assembled, Bachchan urged the Speaker to look into the matter and provide a ruling. Sharma directed the Minister to get the matter inquired and attach the PTI to the district headquarters during the period.