The first day of the Uttar Pradesh Budget Session was marred by noisy scenes as opposition parties created a ruckus and hurled paper balls during Governor Ram Naik’s address to the joint sitting of the state legislature.
The Governor faced the ire of the members of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, as they raised anti-government slogans and waved posters and banners highlighting the problems of farmers and the common man.
Braving all odds, the Governor read his speech in over an hour’s time.
As the opposition, particularly SP members, threw paper balls, the marshal and watch and ward staff of the Assembly had a tough time dealing with the boisterous lawmakers. Some of them even tried to climb over reporters’ desk in an attempt to reach the podium.
As soon as the House assembled, opposition members rushed in the Well of the House. Some of them climbed on their seats and started waving placards and banners. Paper sheets of the agenda were used as paper balls and thrown at the Governor. When the opposition members exhausted the agenda sheets, they used banners as paper missiles and threw them towards the podium.
The opposition members raised slogans like, ‘Kanoon vyavastha trast hai, Yogi mast hai’, (law and order is in a shambles in the state, while Yogi is enjoying), ‘BJP janata se darti hai, CBI, ED ko aage karti hai, (the BJP is scared of the public and uses CBI, ED as a shield), and ‘Kisan virodhi yeh sarkar, nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi’ (the anti-farmer government will not last).
After the House re-assembled post the Governor’s address, Speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit said that the staff had collected sack full of paper balls from the podium, indirectly hinting at the volume of attack during the Governor’s address.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned the act of the opposition, saying that it was ‘undemocratic and uncalled for’.
“The Governor is the representative of the state and he is the constitutional head. The act of the opposition, particularly Samajwadi Party, was like street goondas. It is unfortunate that they have not changed their behaviour,” Yogi told reporters after the Governor’s address.