The recent killing of two police officers purportedly by liquor mafia rocked the Bihar Vidhan Sabha as it opened after Holi recess on Monday to continue business of the budget session. The growing attacks on police parties and killing of cops in such incidents are said to be growing of late in the state and the Opposition has latched on to it to target the lapses in the Nitish government in months before the elections.
The Opposition members started shouting slogans and tripped into the well with posters despite Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav’s repeated requests that they should get back to their seats, raise the matter at the appropriate time and allow the Question Hour to continue.
However, the Opposition members kept shouting slogans in the well. The Speaker later asked the Marshals to take away the posters from the slogan-shouting opposition members and continued with the Question Hour.
The stage for showdown over law and order was set before the start of the sitting, with the Opposition members protesting outside the Assembly with posters and placards raising a question mark over the law and order situation and government’s failure to control it.
“What more needs to happen to wake up the government from its slumber. There were 22 deaths during Holi. It was ‘khoon ki holi’ and the government is still hiding behind pre-2005 days. Two police officers were killed. The BJP leaders are fanning tension,” said RJD legislator Mukesh Roshan.
Congress leader Ajeet Sharma said that the way policemen were falling prey to outlaws, it reflected their growing audacity and governance failure.
The NDA leaders, however, hit back, citing the remark of Tej Pratap Yadav on the Holi day, in which he threatened a police officer to dance.They insisted that the law and order was fully under control and action was being taken in every cause.
JD-U working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha on Monday smelt some foul play behind the incidents of daring attack on police and said it needed to be found out who were behind such incidents.
BJP legislator Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachaul said that the police had full freedom to carry out encounters to eliminate trouble-makers and the government was vigilant about the way the Opposition was encouraging anti-social elements.
“The incidents that have taken place are Opposition sponsored, but the law will reach anyone responsible for such incidents. The days are gone when crime got patronage from 1, Aney Marg (the official residence of CM). The anti-socials will face the music as there is rule of law in the state,” he added.
Earlier, Rajya Sabha MP and JD-U working president Sanjay Jha had also apprehended foul play behind attacks on police with the aim of defaming the government.
