Chaos in Himachal House: Congress, BJP lock horns over closure of institutions

Shimla, March 16

A complete pandemonium prevailed in the Vidhan Sabha for the second day today over the issue of the closure of institutions opened by the previous BJP government. Both BJP and Congress MLAs resorted to sloganeering. The chaos continued and the Opposition staged a walkout, condemning the Congress government for its decision to denotify institutions.

The BJP legislators, led by Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, came to the Vidhan Sabha holding a chain and a lock as a mark of protest against the closure of institutions. They staged a demonstration outside the Assembly and later sat outside the Chief Minister’s office, holding placards and raising slogans.

The Congress MLAs also raised slogans to counter the BJP outside the Chief Minister’s office before the session began. The Opposition continued with its protest in the House as well and stalled the proceedings. Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania repeatedly requested the BJP MLAs to take their seats but the latter continued protesting. As the BJP legislators were adamant, the Speaker ordered the Question Hour to start amid a ruckus.

The Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to place his point of view. Thakur said, “We are completely dissatisfied with the reply of the Chief Minister, who is taking the issue very lightly while the people of the state are upset.”

Thakur accused the government of trying to crush the voice of the Opposition. “The BJP MLAs were not allowed to meet the Chief Minister while the ruling party MLAs indulged in ‘goondaism’. Had we not stopped our MLAs, the situation could have turned ugly,” he alleged. Finally the BJP staged a walkout.

Sukhu said, “The Leader of the Opposition is telling a lie that they were not allowed to meet me. The protesting BJP MLAs could have spoken to me when I walked past them. In fact, two BJP MLAs (Satpal Singh Satti and Pawan Kajal) had come to the House with me,” he added.

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