Bihar assembly speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary on Tuesday suspended Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Lakhendra Kumar Roshan for two days for “indecent and unparliamentary behaviour” after he allegedly broke a mike in the House.
Parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary earlier sought Roshan’s apology for the misconduct. “Else, we would have to move a proposal for action. Whatever happened and everyone saw… was not only indecent but totally against the parliamentary decorum. Such actions should not be allowed in the House. People may have objections to many things, but inside the House, there is a system to present one’s views,” said the minister.
The speaker asked Roshan to apologise but Opposition leader Vijay Kumar Sinha defended him. Sinha said Roshan was upset over provocative statements from the treasury benches and switching off of his mike. He insisted Roshan did not break the mike but “only fiddled with it” hoping it would be switched on.
Sinha said even his mike is often switched off. “If action has to be taken, why has there been no action on the report of the Opposition‘s attack on the Chair’s pedestal during the passage of Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021.”
Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said it was unfortunate that Sinha defended the indefensible. “Whatever happened was apparent in the video footage and there is no room for any excuse. But Sinha is doing what is expected of him…his own behaviour has been no different.”
The speaker gave Roshan the opportunity again to present his viewpoint and asked him if he would like to apologise. But Roshan refused to accept the blame.
“This is grossly wrong to try and subjugate and humiliate a Dalit MLA [member of legislative assembly]. I cannot do this,” he said.
The BJP lawmaker trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans. They later walked out.
The parliamentary affairs minister said Roshan cannot hide his misconduct. “This is even more distasteful…an MLA tries to use caste to cover his misdeeds. This does greater harm to Dalits, who have icons such as BR Ambedkar to emulate.”
The BJP lawmakers later staged a sit-in and demanded Yadav’s resignation over the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
