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    Chhattisgarh Assembly adjourned thrice amid noisy protests

    Synopsis

    Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ajay Chandrakar questioned the opposition's motives behind raising the issue and disrupting question hour.

    PTI
    RAIPUR: Noisy scenes were witnessed for the second consecutive day today in the ongoing winter session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly as the main opposition Congress continued to demand Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh's resignation.

    The opposition also demanded dismissal of Chhattisgarh health minister Amar Agrawal over botched sterilisation surgeries which left 13 women dead in Bilaspur district last month.

    The house was adjourned thrice due to pandemonium and Congress legislators were suspended after they trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans in support of their demands.

    As soon as question hour began, the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh assembly T S Singhdeo raised the issue and was supported by his party members.

    Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ajay Chandrakar questioned the opposition's motives behind raising the issue and disrupting question hour, when it had avoided discussing admissibility of the adjournment motion on deaths of women after tubectomies on Monday.

    Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal tried to pacify Congress members and said that he had already informed that the resignation of any member is not a subject to discuss in the House.

    Following the Speaker's ruling, Congress members wearing black shawls, shouted slogans against the Chhattisgarh state government and demanded resignation of Chief Minister Raman Singh as well of Health Minister Amar Agrawal.

    They also waved placards in support of their demands in the House, after which ruling BJP members also shouted slogans against the Congress.

    As the pandemonium continued, the Speaker adjourned the House.

    After the House resumed, the Speaker said, "I had allowed discussion on admissibility of the adjournment motion on the deaths of women after surgeries at sterilisation camps filed by opposition members on Monday, but despite being present in the House, none of them took part in it."

    "Once again, members submitted an adjournment motion on the issue which has similar points mentioned in yesterday's motion. Therefore, I dismissed it," the Speaker said.

    Congress legislators who were not satisfied with the Speaker's ruling, moved into the well of the House, pressing their demands, after which they were suspended under the assembly rule which provides for automatic suspension of members who try to disrupt proceedings by reaching the well of the House.

    After 30 Congress legislators were suspended, the Speaker adjourned the House for a second time. The Congress has a strength of 39 legislators in the 90-member house. Nine members were not present today.

    However, the Congress members sat down in the well of the house even after their suspension and continued shouting slogans.

    When the house assembled, Speaker Gaurishankar said that opposition members have violated rules of the assembly.

    "The honourable members (Congress legislators) waved a poster-shaped placard in the House while shouting slogans. The House was adjourned for ten minutes. After the House reassembled, they continued shouting slogans and moved into the well of the House waving placards," he said.

    "According to the Chhattisgarh Assembly proceeding rules, anyone entering the well of the House gets automatically suspended. Suspended members should move outside the House but the members continued sitting at the well of the House and violated the rules laid down by the House," he said.

    "It is the responsibility of legislators to protect parliamentary culture in a democracy and maintain the dignity of the House. I leave this to the discretion of the members," he said.

    The Speaker asked for proceedings to continue amid ruckus by Congress members. Later, Congress legislators moved outside the House, shouting slogans, prompting the speaker to adjourn it for the third time.

    After the House resumed, the Speaker revoked suspensions of Congress members who remained outside of it and protested in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the assembly premises.

    Later, the Speaker took up the rest of the listed business of the House and adjourned it for the day.


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