‘Feel tortured on this chair’: Rajasthan Assembly Speaker

Yash Goyal

Jaipur, February 12

Annoyed with treasury benches and Opposition BJP members who indulged in verbal spat during an uproar over ‘infant deaths’ in Kota’s Jay K Lone hospital recently, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker C P Joshi on Wednesday said, “Neither you (Opposition), nor they (ruling) were tortured but it is me who feels tortured on this chair.”

Replying on a starred question of BJP member Madan Dilawar, as Health Minister Raghu Sharma asked rival members not to ‘politicise infant deaths’, all BJP members led by G C Kataria, leader of Opposition, created uproar and raised anti-government slogans objecting to the minister’s reply.

The House went into turmoil as Congress MLA of Neemkathana Suresh Modi walked into the Well giving a placard to the Opposition members. BJP MLA Vasudeo Devnani and others tore it and threw it toward the treasury benches.

Leader of Opposition Kataria urged the Speaker to ‘pratarit’ (torture or punish) the ruling party member who moved into the Well.

The Speaker stood and said, “Neither you (Opposition) nor they (ruling) members are ‘pratarit’, but it is me who feels tortured.”

Earlier in his reply, the Minister said 135 infant deaths were reported at Kota hospital from December 1, 2019 to January 20, 2020. Now sufficient medical instruments, equipment and staff are available in the said hospital, he added.