The issue of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s sentencing by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed for his alleged remarks on “Modi surname”, in which he was later granted bail, figured in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Thursday during the debate on the budgetary demand of building construction, transport and mines & geology departments.
As soon as the second half of the sitting got underway, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan stood up. “… the way things are unfolding, it is a threat to democracy. Our party will approach the higher court. Bail has been granted, but the way reactions are coming, it is not good for democracy,” he said.
“Opposition leaders are being harassed and hounded by agencies.Where are we heading?” he asked.
However, BJP leaders immediately stood up and questioned how the Congress leader was pointing finger at a court order.
Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha said such statements on the floor of the House were “unfortunate and painful”.
“Those who don’t have any trust in the Constitution and democratic values are also not sparing courts. Whatever a court has observed should not be discussed here. The legislators pledge that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution and attack constitutional bodies,” he said.
Later, other Congress and RJD leaders also raised the matter in the House. “Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav are being targeted through federal agencies to upset the Opposition unity. Yadav is being targeted solely to destabilise the Grand Alliance (GA) government in Bihar, as the BJP finds it difficult to fight on its own,” said Akhtarul Islam Sahin of the RJD, amid continued interjections from the BJP.
On reference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the RJD, BJP leaders again stood up in protest and the Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary had to intervene to calm things down.
Later, building construction minister Ashok Choudhary, giving the government reply after debate, said that the construction of signature buildings in different districts of the state and large-scale infrastructure development under the guidance of chief minister Nitish Kumar was a testimony to the rapid strides the state has made.
“The department is engaged in construction of residential and non-residential buildings, as well as officials and institutional set-ups for different colleges and residential schools. The work on APJ Abdul Kalam Science City in Patna, Budha Museum in Bodh Gaya, international cricket stadium at Rajgir is progressing well,” he said, even as the BJP staged walkout.
Later, the department’s budget of ₹4721.48 crore was passed by voice vote. The budgetary demands for transport department and mines & geology department were also passed through guillotine.
