Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday when the leader of opposition suggested that a BJP minister could also face a CBI probe and go to jail with a change in government.
The remark by Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhury (Samajwadi Party) led to a heated exchange between ruling and opposition members and the Speaker briefly adjourned the House.
During the Question Hour, when Rural Development Minister Mahendra Singh was replying to a question from an assembly member, Chowdhury suddenly stood up and said, "When you (the minister) will be here (in the opposition), there will be a CBI probe and you will also go to jail."
Chowdhury did not say in what context he made the remark, but last week the CBI searched properties linked to former SP lawmakers Ateeq Ahmad in an abduction case and Gayatri Parajapti in an illegal mining case.
His remark irked minister Singh, who challenged Chowdhury and used a few words SP members objected to. The SP members then came into the Well of the House and raised slogans against the state government.
They did not pay heed to repeated requests by Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit to maintain decorum, forcing him to adjourn the House for 15 minutes.
The SP members, however, continued to sit in the Well and the speaker prolonged the adjournment twice by 20 minutes till 12.20pm. After barely 15 minutes of business, the Question Hour was washed out.
When the House reassembled at 12.20pm, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said the incident was unfortunate.
Minister Singh said he took back his words and expressed his "dukh" (pain) for what he said. "I didn't mean to say those words. I respect the senior member, Chowdhury."
Speaker Dixit said the "objectionable words" will not be part of the proceedings and requested Leader of Opposition Chowdhury to ask his party members to return to their seats.
BSP leader Lalji Verma insisted that minister Singh use the word "khed" (regret) instead of "dukh" for what he had said during the heated exchange with Chowdhury.
The speaker said by expressing "dukh" one is pained and by expressing "khed" the person pleases others.
Requesting SP members to return to their seats, Khanna requested Chowdhury to contribute to peacefully conducting the proceedings in the House.
Chowdhury said since the leader of the house (CM Yogi Adityanath), the speaker and the parliamentary affairs minister felt the solution was just, he did not want to take the matter forward.
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