Over a dozen Congress MLAs are sitting on an overnight dharna inside the Rajasthan Assembly, demanding the state government withdraw a bill that seeks to protect judges and public servants from investigation without prior sanction of the government.
The protesting MLAs said their dharna will continue till 11 am tomorrow when the House resumes for Wednesday.
"We will continue to remain on Dharna inside the Well of the House. It will continue on Tuesday night and we will protest till the House resumes on Wednesday at 11 am. If the state government fails to accept the demands, Congress legislators will continue their protest," Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi said.
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Earlier in the day in the House, Congress legislators accused the state government of not being serious on farmers issues as well.
Nearly a dozen of party legislators trooped into the Well of the House, shouting slogans for waiving farm loan and sat on dharna.
"Congress legislators are sitting on the dharna to demand a complete waiver of farm loan and withdrawal of the 'kala kanoon' (black law)," he said, referring to theCriminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill that was tabled in the assembly yesterday to replace an ordinance promulgated on September 7.
Under fire from various quarters, the government today referred the controversial bill to a select committee of the assembly.
Dudi said the state government was about to bring the "black law" to shield corrupt public servants, but it had to bow down to the pressure.
"The law is being brought with ill-intention and state government should withdraw it," he said.
He also said the state government has put the loan-waiver issue on back burner by constituting a high-power committee over it.
"The government is ignorant and farmers are forced to commit suicide. Crop insurance scheme has failed to deliver and insurance firms are looting farmers," he alleged.
TheCriminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2017, seeks to protect serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in the state from being investigated for on-duty action, without its prior sanction.
It also seeks to bar the media from reporting on such accusations till the sanction to proceed with the probe is given by the government.
The move has been severely criticised by the opposition Congress and National People's Party (NPP) and senior BJP MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari. The Editors Guild of India too opposed the "harmful ordinance" and demanded its withdrawal.
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