Cong stages walkout over suspension Har assembly's Zero Hour

Main opposition Congress on Thursday staged a walkout from the Haryana Assembly to protest against the suspension of Zero Hour by Speaker Gian Chand Gupta due to paucity of time to take Calling Attention Notices.

Immediately after the Question Hour, the Congress members led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda began raising various issues presuming it was Zero Hour.

Speaker Gupta, however, told them that today there is no Zero Hour as the Calling Attention Notices have to be taken up.

The speaker sought to reason that the Zero Hour has been suspended due to time constraints.

Leader of Opposition Hooda and other Congress members present in the House, however, objected to the suspension of Zero Hour, saying conventions are not being followed.

Speaker Gupta, however, asked some of the opposition members, whose Calling Attention Notices on sugarcane farmers' issue had been admitted, to take up their matter.

But the Congress members continued to protest, prompting the speaker to again tell them to resume their seats and maintain the decorum of the House.

As the ruckus continued, Home Minister Anil Vij got up and flashed Vidhan Sabha Rule book, saying there is no provision of the Zero Hour in this and asked the Congress members under what rule they were demanding it.

This House runs according to this rule book, have you ever read it? Vij asked the Congress members, flashing the rule book.

The speaker too told the protesting Congress members that their Calling Attention Notice has been admitted and they should allow it to be taken up.

This means you are not serious about your Calling Attention Notice, are the issues you have raised in these not important? Speaker asked the Congress MLAs.

Sensing that Congress members were in no mood to relent, the speaker tried to pacify them, saying they should allow the Calling Attention Notice to be taken up first and if time permits, the issues they wanted to raise during Zero Hour, too would be taken up later.

As Congress members remained adamant, the speaker also told them that if the Zero Hour is to be allowed first, they will have to take back their Calling Attention Notices.

As the ruckus continued, Congress MLAs, led by Hooda, staged a brief walkout from the House.

Before walking out from the Assembly, Congress MLA Chiranjeevi Rao chanted Bharat Mata Ki Jai which was reciprocated by some other party legislators.