Himachal Pradesh Assembly today witnessed heated exchange of words between BJP and Congress member over MLA priority scheme after which the opposition MLAs staged a walkout during the question hour.
Trouble started when Sarveen Chowdhary of BJP asked Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes to explain the meaning of "foundation stone" and referred to Raj Kuhl and Badi Kuhl schemes, which she said were part of MLA priority scheme in 2011 and the work on them was completed to a great extent.
"The foundation stone was laid by the Chief Minister after tenders and re-tenders were done into the schemes for various works and the name of local MLA was missing in the plaque of Foundation stone," the BJP member said.
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While Stokes was still replying to the question, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS), Neeraj Bharti got up and entered into heated arguments with the BJP members.
He questioned that why the BJP leaders had laid foundation stones in his Jawali constituency without their contribution in those schemes.
As tempers ran high, BJP members started raising slogans and staged a walkout.
Later, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said budget for the schemes under MLA priority (which the BJP member referred to) was provided in 2013-14, so it was appropriate to lay the foundation stone of the schemes in 2014.
However, BJP members returned to the House after some time and participated in the question hour.