Himachal assembly session begins on stormy note

The winter session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly began here Monday on a stormy note with the opposition BJP seeking a discussion on "personal allegations" against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, CBI probe against him and the failures of the Congress government in its one year in office.

The BJP members, who were not allowed the adjournment motion for this discussion, protested on their seats for over half an hour and later walked to the speaker's podium, raising slogans against the government.

Assembly proceedings, however, continued amid the din.

BJP members Mahender Singh and Suresh Bhardwaj were on their feet as the house convened, seeking a debate on some important issues, the notice for which was moved by 11 BJP members earlier in the day.

Speaker Brij Butail said he had got the notice by BJP members and it was under consideration.

BJP member Ravinder Ravi, dissatisfied with the speaker's response, said the matter was urgent, as the government was in the dock over allegations against the chief minister.

"The chief minister is facing a CBI inquiry, the functioning of the chief minister's office is under a cloud in view of fake DO (demi-official) notes. The common man is not getting subsidised rations... There is total government failure. We need to discuss these issues first," Ravi said.

Other BJP members, including Rajiv Bindal, also stood up, demanding a discussion and alleging that there was a hue and cry in the state over cooking gas subsidy and non-availability of subsidised rations.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said the BJP's adjournment motion notice under rule 67 could not be allowed as the opposition had sought a debate on more than one issue in that notice.

The speaker too said that the BJP's notice had so many issues clubbed together, out of which one of the issues was in court.

"Still, I have forwarded it to the government. I will decide on it when I get the government report on it," Butail said.

The BJP members contested that earlier the speaker said that the notice was under consideration but later said he had sent it to the government for a report.

Intervening in the deadlock, Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal said price rise and unemployment were big issues troubling the state and the country.

"All these issues are related, as the reason for this is corruption," he said. He took strong objection to the chief minister's remarks (reported in newspapers) that "he was a dangerous chief minister" and "he would break fingers".

Dhumal said it was strange that a head of state should speak like that.

"But we also know how to deal with the 'dangerous people'," he said.

Dhumal said it was for the speaker to decide on the adjournment motion and there was no need to send it to the government for comments.

The speaker then rejected the notice for the adjournment motion and said it did not fall within the rules as the BJP had raised more than one issue in it.

Infuriated, BJP members walked to the podium of the speaker protesting and raising slogans, until the assembly was adjourned.