Ruckus in MP assembly over Vyapam leads to scuffle outside

The Madhya Pradesh assembly was adjourned for a day here on Tuesday as pandemonium over the Vyapam scam continued for the second day in the house. A scuffle also broke out later among some slogan-shouting MLAs outside the house.

As pandemonium over the Vyapam scam continued for the second day in the house, with Congress demanding a discussion on the scam and the chief minister's resignation, several members from the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in a scuffle.

In the morning, the Congress members demanded a discussion on the Vyapam scam before the Question Hour. The BJP leaders on treasury benches opposed the demand.

Speaker Sita Ram Sharma adjourned the house for 10 minutes after both sides refused to relent. When the house reconvened, the speaker had to adjourn it again.

Though the speaker adjourned proceedings of the house twice, the commotion continued and forced him to adjourn the house till Wednesday.

Even after coming out of the house, legislators from both sides resorted to sloganeering against either side. It soon turned into pushing and shoving each other, and during the melee three Congress legislators fell down.

Opposition leader Satyadev Katare suffered rib injuries in the scuffle, and two other two Congress legislators Rajnish Singh and Madhu Bhagat also were injured as they fell down.

Katare later told reporters that BJP legislator Sudarshan Gupta and Manoj Patel along with two other party members pushed him and he was punched from the back, leaving him injured.

BJP legislator Patel told IANS: "Katare is after cheap publicity. Yes, the BJP legislators did raise slogans outside the assembly house. Katare was surrounded by Congress legislators. I don't think anyone would have hit him. If anyone did, it could be from his party only."

Speaker Sharma told reporters that Congress legislators complained to him about being pushed around and hit.