Pandemonium in Haryana Assembly as 7 Congress MLAs suspended

Seven Congress MLAs were suspended from the proceedings for the day while the remaining members of the main Opposition party staged a walkout on the first day of the monsoon session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today, protesting against what they termed “injustice” over the alleged manhandling of their legislators by Assembly staff.

The Speaker, Harvinder Kalyan, maintained that the staff had only discharged its duty but said he was willing to look into the allegations. The Congress, however, insisted on “prompt action”.

Soon after the obituaries were read out, senior Congress MLA Raghuvir Singh Kadian and Congress Legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda raised the issue of the alleged “misbehaviour” by Vidhan Sabha staff at the Assembly gate.

The Congress MLAs, dressed in black, said they had marched towards the Assembly carrying placards and raising slogans against frequent paper leaks, alleged “cheating” of youth through jobs under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam, alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram temple and in support of safai karamcharis.

Hooda said they were stopped at the Assembly gate and alleged that he had never witnessed such behaviour by the staff during his long political career. As Congress MLAs protested, the treasury benches too raised counter-slogans, leading to pandemonium. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s attempt to speak was drowned out by the din.

Kalyan said he had examined the Congress allegations. “While the MLAs have a number of privileges, there are rules and regulations to govern them. I have checked and found the Vidhan Sabha staff was only discharging its duty,” he said.

The Speaker adjourned the House for 20 minutes. On resumption, he suggested that two MLAs each from the treasury and Opposition benches watch the videos to ascertain the allegation of manhandling. The Congress, however, did not attend the meeting convened by him.

Later, Kalyan said he was disappointed by the Congress’s absence and maintained that showing the videos in the House would compromise its dignity. “I have seen the videos and I cannot show these in the House though the Leader of Opposition can be seen elbowing a staffer,” he said.

As Congress MLAs trooped into the well, Saini said, “This is goondagardi.” The Speaker asked both sides to exercise restraint.

The Speaker then named Induraj Narwal, Shakuntla Khatak, Jassi Petwar, Gokul Setia, Aditya Surjewala, Devender Hans and Balram Dangi and suspended them for the day’s proceedings. Marshals were called in to remove the protesting MLAs. The remaining Congress members subsequently staged a walkout.

Later, Saini said the Congress had come with a pre-decided agenda and was unwilling to listen to facts. “It is unfortunate that the Congress is not prepared to listen to anything in the House and the party believes in the shoot-and-scoot policy,” he said.

Five Congress MLAs stay away from ‘black’ protest

While most Congress MLAs wore black as a symbol of protest, five legislators — Jarnail Singh, Renu Bala, Mohd Israel, Shelly Chaudhry and Mohd Ilyas — did not follow the party line. The five had been suspended following allegations of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha poll held in March.

They also stayed away from the slogan-shouting during the ruckus in the House.

Jarnail Singh, however, later moved towards the treasury benches and held up posters prepared by the BJP seeking an apology from the Congress over the 1984 riots.

Minister Krishan Bedi alleged that the Congress had “insulted” a Dalit Sikh by snatching a poster from his hands, referring to Singh. Congress MLAs photographed Singh surrounded by BJP legislators while holding the poster on the 1984 riots.