Amid continuing uproar created by Congress members demanding resignation of Chief Minister Raman Singh over the Jeeram ghati massacre issue, the Monsoon Session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly — the last before the forthcoming Assembly polls — concluded here with the passage of eight bills without any debate.
Even as the Assembly sat for holding the day's business, Congress member and former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi demanded from Speaker Dharamlal Kaushik why the conversations of the Opposition members on the floor of the House were censured yesterday from the records. To this, the Speaker replied: "There is no censureship. The newspapers are carrying the House proceedings."
Immediately after, the Congress members started raising slogans while demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Raman Singh. Amid commotion in the House, BJP member Devji Bhai Patel got up and said: "We are ready to talk." Speaker Dharamlal Kaushik turned towards the Congress members and remarked: "If you say there is censureship, then you will wave newspapersIJ Your MlAs are waving newspapers."
When the Opposition members refused to calm down and continued raising slogans, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes at 11.08 am. When the proceedings resumed, Congress member Mohammed Akbar alleged that the BJP had sent its media in-charge to the newspapers to get the conversations of Congress members in the House deleted.
Congress member Ajit Jogi interrupted while saying: "When we are saying something in the House, we are participating in the proceedings." Adding to Jogi's remark, Mohammed Akbar stated: "It is a violation of our rights. We have kept out views in the House." While Congress members continued with their slogans, the Speaker adjourned the House once again at 12 pm.
When the House met again at 12 pm, Congress member Ajit Jogi once again said: "It had been a violation of out right as the conversation in the House had been expunged.'Jogi requested the Speaker to let the matter be removed from censureship and reach the media. To this, BJP member Brijmohan Agarwal said: "The rule says that if some words are inappropriate, they must be expunged from the records."
The Congress members while reacting to the statement shouted: "What was objectionableIJ Why were they expungedIJ"
To this, Agarwal responded by saying: "Condolence is to pay tribute. They (Congress members) have politicised condolence. You are linking condolence with politics of votes."The Speaker interrupted by saying: "You can keep your views, but there are certain conditions," while turning towards the Congress members. "Disruption of House proceedings is not participation in the House,' the Speaker said. To this, the Congress members got up and once again started shouting slogans.
Cong members suspended again
Congress members were suspended once again by the Speaker for the gathering in the well of the House and raising slogans while demanding resignation of Chief Minister Raman Singh.As soon as certain Congress members started moving towards the ruling party benches, leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey stopped them from crossing over. Some of the BJP members got up on the other side in anticipation of the Opposition members crossing over to their side in the House. The Congress members kept shouting slogans even as the Speaker took up the House business. A total of eight bills were passed in the House amid the commotion in the House. "Entering the well of the House means an automatic suspension," the Speaker said. Kaushik further told the Congress members: "You can either stay in the lobby or go out." The Congress members after sometime walked out of the House.