BAC meet breaks ice: BJP MLAs withdraw protest over employment policy after assurance of CM’s statement
RANCHI: The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday agreed not to enter the assembly wearing T-shirts with slogans and disrupt proceedings, following a meeting of the business advisory committee (BAC) wherein it was agreed that chief minister Hemant Soren would make a statement over the issue of employment policy of the government in the House.
The speaker convened a meeting of the BAC after the second adjournment of the assembly on Thursday as the BJP lawmakers appeared in the House wearing T-shirts and continued to raise slogans in the well disrupting proceedings, defying the ruling of the Speaker passed on Wednesday saying that wearing such apparel is against parliamentary proceedings.
The BAC meeting chaired by the Speaker was attended by representatives of all parties, including the chief minister. As the house reconvened after lunch, the House was informed by the Speaker about the decision taken in the BAC meeting even as BJP members returned wearing T-shirts.
“I don’t know whether senior BJP members present in the BAC communicated the decision to their colleagues or not. But it has been decided and all agreed that the House would be back to normal, and the chief minister would make a statement over the issue in this ongoing session at a time of his choice,” the Speaker said.
The BJP members assured the House they won’t wear it from Friday.
“We always respect the chair. The Wednesday incident (wherein Treasury bench and opposition members came face to face over the issue) happened due to a member of the ruling party. We assure the chair we won’t wear this from Friday as has been decided in the BAC,” said senior BJP legislator Bhanu Pratap Shahi.
The BJP legislators however justified their four-day protest over the issue and the way they protested and questioned the Speaker’s ruling on Wednesday.
“The Speaker’s ruling against our protest was done under influence of a Congress legislator. He said our wearing T-shirts for raising questions on the 1932 Kathiyan-based employment policy was improper. Our only demand was a statement from the CM over the employment policy the government has passed. Our only contention to Speaker’s view is why did he not stop the Treasury bench when even the chief minister and parliamentary affairs minister came in the House with 1932 posters during the special session held on November 11 last year,” said BJP chief whip Biranchi Narayan.
