PATNA: The Winter session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly ended on Monday with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) virtually protesting in entire session over the Saran hooch tragedy, which has claimed 70 lives till now.
On Monday, when the session started for the last day, it was adjourned yet again as the BJP disrupted the proceedings from the start, trooped into the well, and thumped over the hooch tragedy. They also took strong exception to the allegation of recovery of liquor bottles from the Lakhisarai house of the kin of the leader of the Opposition made by Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan and the Speaker’s advice to get the matter looked into.
As soon as Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary started the day’s proceedings with the Question Hour, leader of the opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha stood up, demanding a judicial probe into the hooch tragedy after the Speaker allowed him to speak. “We have also moved an adjournment motion on it. As per provisions in the Excise Act, the kin should get compensation, as it happened in Gopalganj. We want that the entire House should express condolence over the death of so many people in the hooch tragedy,” Sinha said.
He also showed a picture of a leader from whose house liquor bottles were recovered in Lakhisarai and was attributed to his (Sinha’s) kin. “This man is a JD(U) leader. The false allegations should be removed from the proceedings and the man making false allegations should apologise in the House,” he said.
Sinha also did not spare the Speaker for making 113 interjections in 50 minutes during his speech on Friday during a debate on second supplementary budget. “This is against the dignity of the Chair,” he said, as all the BJP members trooped into the well with posters and banners.
“The behaviour of the Opposition is not good for Parliamentary democracy. You cannot show posters in the House. You are disrupting the Question House. If you continue like this, I will have to take action at my level,” he said, giving time to parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary to respond to Sinha’s queries amid slogan shouting.
Choudhary said that the government was not aware from whose house the liquor bottles were recovered. “When this matter was raised, the government said it would get it examined. We don’t know which photograph the the leader of the opposition is showing. Whoever is involved in liquor smuggling will not be spared,” he said.
The Speaker then asked Sinha to pass on the information to the minister, even as the ruckus continued and the Question Hour went on, with nothing audible in the din. “You people keep beating the drum and disregard the all-important Question House dealing with public issues. This is not why people send you here,” he added, adjoining the House till 2 pm.
