Minister-SP spat, paddy rock Haryana Assembly for second day

Chandigarh, December 1

Pandemonium prevailed in the Haryana Assembly on Tuesday as opposition MLAs staged protest on the issue of alleged irregularities in paddy procurement and the spat between state minister Amil Vij and police officer Sangeeta Kalia, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House twice.

The Speaker "named" 12 Congress MLAs as they stormed the well and also 16 members of the INLD who created ruckus in the house following rejection of their Calling Attention Notice on the recent power tariff hike.

As soon as the Question House ended on the second day of the winter session of Haryana Assembly here, Congress MLAs, including former Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, Raghubir Kadiyan, Shakuntala Khatak and Karan Singh Dalal rushed to the well of the House, demanding discussion on the alleged paddy procurement scam in the state.

Heated exchanges took place between treasury benches and opposition benches on the issue during the Zero Hour.

The issue of recent spat between Haryana Health minister Anil Vij and the then SP Fatehabad Sangeeta Kalia, who was later shunted out, also rocked the House when Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal sought to move a privilege motion against Vij for allegedly "deliberately hiding material facts" of his meeting of Fatehabad District Grievance Committee of which he was the Chairman.

As the members of BJP and Congress traded charges, Speaker Kanwar Pal adjourned the House for 15 minutes. Later, Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav extended the adjournment for another 20 minutes.

Speaking to reporters, Dalal later said that he has moved a privilege motion against Anil Vij, seeking reply to the charges of SP over selling of illicit liquor in the state.

However, the state government had punished her by transferring her from Fatehabad, he said.

When the House reassembled, Congress MLAs, including CLP leader Kiran Choudhary, Anand Singh Dangi, Raghubir Kadiyan and Shakuntala Khatak rushed to the Well of the House, demanding discussion on the alleged paddy purchase scam.

Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda stood near his chair.

Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav pleaded with the members of Congress to go back to their seats to allow the smooth functioning of the House. However, the protesting Congress MLAs remain adamant, forcing Yadav to "name" them.

A piquant situation arose when Hooda asked Yadav had named him when he was not in the Well of the House.

Immediately thereafter, Kanwar Pal resumed the Speaker's chair and withdrew his name. However, Hooda walked out of the House in protest. —PTI