The Congress legislators in the Gujarat Assembly were suspended for the day on Tuesday after they shouted slogans and rushed to the well of the House.
The trouble began during the Question Hour when leader of Opposition Sankersinh Vaghela demanded a discussion on the drinking water crisis and fodder shortage in the State.
Speaker Vajubhai Vala turned down the demand following which the Congress started shouting slogans and rushed to the well of the House. As pandemonium prevailed in the House, the Speaker suspended the Congress legislators from the proceedings for the day.
As many as six Bills were then passed by the House in the absence of the Opposition Congress MlAs.The Bills included the Gujarat Value Added Tax Amendment Act, Gujarat Electricity Duty Amendment Act, Gujarat Entertainment Tax Amendment Act, Gujarat Professional and Technical Education Colleges and Institutes related Amendment Act, Gujarat Viniyog Vidheyak and a Bill on fire safety.
later, the Congress members sat on a dharna outside the legislative Assembly complex and displayed placards.leader of Opposition Sankersinh Vaghela told the newspersons outside the Assembly that the Congress legislators have requested for discussions on water and fodder issues for 17 times but they have been turned down every time.
Vaghela said that while the Centre has declared 17 districts of Gujarat as scarcity-hit and provided a relief package of `865 crores, the State Government has declared only 59 talukas in 10 districts as fully or partially scarcity-hit.
Thus the State Government has done injustice to the farmers of seven districts by skipping them from the list of scarcity-hit districts, said Vaghela.
Many tribal talukas in south Gujarat are experiencing shortage of drinking water but they have not been declared as scarcity-hit, the leader of Opposition said.