Gujarat speaker suspends Congress MLAs for one day

All opposition Congress members attending the assembly on Tuesday were suspended for a day following a furore over alleged corruption and nepotism in land allocation near the Gir lion sanctuary to business associates of Chief Minister Anandiben Patel's daughter.

Carrying placards and shouting slogans, the Congress legislators created a ruckus in the assembly despite Speaker Ganpat Vasava's order not to disrupt the house proceedings.

Pandemonium broke out after Vasava did not permit Congress MLA Mahendrasinh Baraiya to move a draft resolution regarding the Gir forest land deal.

The Congress MLAs shouted slogans and displayed placards with slogans like 'Hardik jail ma, Anar mahel ma' (Hardik is in jail while Anar Patel, Anandiben's daughter, is in palace) and 'Anar ni mata bhrashtachar ni data' (Anar's mother is the cause of corruption).

The Congress members continued with slogan-shouting despite the speaker's repeated requests to them to return to their seats. Vasava then suspended them and ordered the marshals to evict them.

After their eviction, senior Congress MLA Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the speaker did not allow Baraiya's resolution to hush up the corrupt land deal. "But we will take this matter to the people and expose the state government," he said.

The assembly budget session is scheduled to conclude on March 31.