Following police complaint against 19 Congress MlAs and orders of recovery from them for damaging properties in Gujarat Assembly complex, the Opposition Congress launched an open fight against the State Government and intimidated to launch 'Jail Bharo Andolan', if police complaints will not be withdrawn.
The Gujarat Assembly Speaker, Ganapat Vasava's ordered to lodge a police complaint against the Congress MlAs who indulged in vandalism within the House as well as in the Assembly complex, breaking glass panes, wooden partition walls and flower pots near the Speaker's chamber. Even some of the Opposition members damaged microphones in the House. Vasava has also ordered to recover amount of damage from the Opposition MlAs.
Reacting on the move, the leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and the former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela threatened that if his 19 colleagues in the House will be arrested, all the Congress MlAs will voluntarily arrest themselves and initiate 'Jail Bharo Andolan'.
The trouble began in the House on Thursday when Vaghela was interrupted and asked to conclude his speech by Deputy Speaker Atmaram Parmar during budgetary demand discussion for Home department. The Congress members protested against Deputy Speaker's decision claiming that they required time to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in the State.
When Parmar did not heed, the situation went out of control and the Congress MlAs began throwing papers, books, seat cushions and even damaged the microphones. This forced the Chair to suspend Congress legislators for a day and call House sergeants to physically evict members of the Opposition party out of the House. Some Congress members were seen having a scuffle with security personnel in the House.
The vandalism issue was raised in the House on Friday by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja who urged the Speaker to condemn the behaviour of the Opposition members in the "strongest possible words" and order recovery of the damages to the public property from the opposition members responsible for the losses.
The Speaker agreed with Jadeja and directed the Assembly watch and ward staff to lodge a police complaint against the guilty and recovery of cost from the responsible MlAs.