Uproar in Vidhan Sabha after BJP leaders denied permission to speak

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 23

The Himachal Assembly today witnessed acrimonious scenes with enraged four-time BJP legislator Ravinder Ravi pulling off two microphones as Speaker BBL Butail denied the opposition a chance to speak on the accusations made by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh against senior Central and state BJP leadership.

On being denied a chance to defend their leaders, the BJP members trouped to the well of the House and stood around the podium of the Speaker. Even as they raised slogans, Ravi picked up the files lying in front of the Secretary and banged them on his table. Seeing the situation getting serious, some senior BJP MLAs stopped Ravi and pulled him back. Complete pandemonium prevailed in the House as the BJP and Congress MLAs got engaged in sloganeering and nothing could be heard in the melee.

It was after the question hour got over that Maheshwar Singh raised the issue of CBI charge-sheet against Virbhadra, which had been reported by the media. This had the entire ruling party members on their toes. Heated exchanges took place between the Congress and the BJP members with the latter finally staging a walkout.

Trouble broke out when Chief Minister named Union Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and his two sons Anurag Thakur and Arun Dhumal as the main conspirators behind the cases faced by him. “All these BJP leaders have conspired against me as the same case is being investigated by three different agencies – the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department,” he remarked.

An infuriated Virbhadra, while repeatedly thumping the table, said he was not scared of the chargesheet and will face it as he had done in the past when false cases were filed against him Dhumal regime on two occasions. “I cannot be cowed down by such witch-hunting as truth will prevail and I will expose the nefarious designs of those acting from behind the curtain,” he said.

He also used the occasion to hit out at the HP Cricket Association (HPCA) headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur by stating that land worth crores was given by the previous BJP regime for construction of a stadium and then a five-star hotel by felling trees.

This had the BJP MLAs fuming who had by then returned to the House after the brief walkout. Situation became worse when the Speaker denied the BJP legislators a chance to speak and in protest they surrounded the Speaker, raising slogans. The remaining business for the day was taken up amidst the pandemonium and protest by the BJP MLAs.

Virbhadra remarked that today’s rowdy behaviour by BJP legislators was nothing short of goondaism. “This kind of unruly behaviour is unheard of in Himachal Assembly and we will move a privilege motion against Ravinder Ravi,” he said after the session got over.