Acrimony, walkout and forced adjournment mar Rajasthan Assembly proceedings

The budget session of the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday witnessed acrimonious scenes, a walkout, and a forced adjournment over various contentious issues that marred proceedings during the pre-lunch sitting.

The acrimony erupted in the House during Question Hour over the issue of dilapidated government-run school buildings at several places in the state, culminating in heated exchanges between members of the Treasury Benches and the Opposition.

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The issue was briefly settled through the efforts of Speaker Vasudev Devnani; however, members from both sides soon again engaged in a verbal confrontation, this time over irregularities and lapses in the payment of social security pensions. Dissatisfied with the government’s reply, Opposition members walked out of the House.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tika Ram Jully said, “If the government does not come forward with a responsible response and proper reply, we will walk out of the House.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joga Ram Patel reacted sharply to the remark, following which Congress members staged a walkout.

Later, Zakir Hossain Gasawat (Congress) raised the SIR issue through a parchi (short-notice slip), triggering fresh uproar in the House as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patel and some senior ruling party members and ministers took exception to it. Patel said, “Since the issue was outside the state government’s domain and concerned only the Election Commission of India (ECI), it could not be raised in the House.

LoP Jully strongly objected to the minister’s stance, saying, “Since the Chair has granted permission to raise the issue, how can he be prevented from making his point?”

He said, “We are bringing to the government’s notice the recovery of as many as 700 unauthorised Form-7s from some Tehsil headquarters and want the state government to probe the matter. Why can’t the government order an inquiry into it?”

Amid the chaos, Speaker Devnani said, “I shall deliver a ruling on it after due consultations, and adjourned the House for lunch minutes before the scheduled break.