Pandemonium prevailed in Haryana Assembly today as opposition MLAs staged protest on the issue of alleged irregularities in paddy procurement and the spat between state minister Anil Vij and police officer Sangeeta Kalia, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House twice.
The Speaker "named" 12 Congress MLAs as they stormed into the Well, and also 16 members of INLD who created ruckus in the House following rejection of their Calling Attention Notice on the recent power tariff hike.
The remainder of the second and final day's proceedings of the brief winter session of the assembly were then carried out in the absence of the opposition members, which saw passage of some bills.
Congress' Karan Singh Dalal was the lone representative from the opposition present as he had not been "named" and decided to stay back as one of his Calling Attention Notice was listed and was subsequently taken up.
While Congress legislators sought a probe by a sitting high court judge into the alleged paddy scam, main opposition INLD also demanded an independent probe, alleging that "the scam cannot take place without connivance of those who are connected with the government".
Both the opposition parties had yesterday staged separate walkouts from the House over the "paddy scam" issue.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar slammed the 'my way or the highway' approach adopted by the opposition and said this does not set a healthy trend in our democratic system.
Khattar said the first ever BJP government in Haryana in its first year had tried to set new traditions and give "out-of-the box solutions to the problems".
"Our intent is clear what we have decided we will deliver, be it our zero tolerance towards corruption or bringing transparency in administration... But that doesn't mean that if anyone tries to have his way, whether right or wrong, just because they have taken a stand on a particular issue and therefore they are right, this attitude is not right," Khattar said, launching a stinging attack on the opposition.
On the alleged paddy scam, Khattar said, "I have said if any irregularity is found, we will get it inquired."
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma also took a dig at the opposition, saying there was a competition between the Congress and INLD to remain in media headlines. "They are seeking probe (in paddy scam) without establishing that any irregularity has taken place," he said.
Earlier, as soon as the Question Hour ended, Congress
MLAs including former Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, Raghubir Kadiyan, Shakuntala Khatak and Karan Singh Dalal rushed to the Well of the House, demanding discussion on the alleged paddy procurement scam in the state.
Heated exchanges took place between treasury benches and opposition benches on the issue during the Zero Hour.
The issue of recent spat between Haryana Health minister Anil Vij and the then SP Fatehabad Sangeeta Kalia, who was later shunted out, also rocked the House when Congress MLA Dalal sought to move a privilege motion against Vij for allegedly "deliberately hiding material facts" of his meeting of Fatehabad District Grievance Committee.
As the members of BJP and Congress traded charges and there was slogan-shouting, Speaker Kanwar Pal adjourned the House for 15 minutes. Later, Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav extended the adjournment for another 20 minutes.
When the House reassembled, Congress MLAs including Kiran Choudhary, Anand Singh Dangi, Raghubir Kadiyan and Shakuntala Khatak rushed to the Well of the House, demanding discussion on the alleged paddy purchase scam. Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however, stood near his chair.
Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav pleaded with the Congress members to go back to their seats. However, the protesting MLAs remain adamant, forcing Yadav to "name" them.
A piquant situation arose when Hooda asked Yadav why she had named him when he was not in the Well of the House.
Immediately thereafter, Kanwar Pal resumed the Speaker's chair and withdrew Hooda's name. However, Hooda walked out of the House in protest, joining his colleagues on the paddy scam issue who had already been "named".
Before walking out of the House, the Congress MLAs raised slogans against the Khattar government, charging it with being "anti-farmer".
BJP MLAs shot back, saying that those who had allegedly looted the farmers during their rule, should not be pointing fingers at others, especially when "no scam in paddy procurement has been established".
As the Congress MLAs had been "named", Leader of Opposition Chautala appealed to the Speaker to call back the Congress MLAs, saying the opposition's presence in the House was required for healthy discussion in the House.
Later the INLD members also protested against the government over the hike in power tariff.
Attacking the opposition, CM Khattar said, "If someone speaks loudly, it does not automatically qualify that he is always right." "Khamoshi se bhi nek kaam hote hein, humne dekha hein padoon ko chanv dete huvein (good things can be achieved even going about doing one's work silently)," Khattar said.
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The chief minister said, "I feel pained that what we thought it has not worked out that way. Our friends in the opposition...The atmosphere that built up today, I feel that the desire to use the House and this platform for politics, they could not stop it."
"During previous years, maybe they were habitual to this, but now they found themselves in new atmosphere. To remain adamant that only I am right, I don't think this is a healthy trend for our democracy," he said.
Khattar, who is also Leader of the House, said there is no problem in calling back the opposition members who had been "named", but it cannot be with a pre-condition. "I have no problem in calling them back, but not with condition. We want that a good, constructive dialogue should take place in the House," he said.
Khattar reiterated in the House he has ordered physical verification of stock of paddy purchased in 'mandis' during the current Kharif procurement season by the officer of the level of Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary in each district in coming two weeks.
He said that not even a single farmer had complained against 'arthiyas' (commission agents) about irregularities in paddy procurement.
Khattar's clarification, however, did not cut ice with the opposition, which claimed that rates for a basmati variety had shot up manifold soon after the stock had been procured from the farmers and demanded a judicial probe into it.
Congress leader Raghubir Singh Kadia told reporters that those close to the power were involved in the "paddy scam".
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma informed the House that Iran had lifted sanction on rice import, which could be one reason for rates going up now.
Opposition Chautala said, "The paddy scam cannot take place without people connected with the government being involved in it."
On the power hike issue, Abhay Chautala sought to know from the Speaker why his Calling Attention Notice had been disallowed, to which the Chair told him that it was the power regulator which hikes the rates and not the government.
Chautala replied, "The Chairman and members of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission are appointed by the government. Now, the government is trying to find an escape route by putting the entire thing on the regulator for the enhanced rates."
As the Speaker ruled that the motion had been disallowed, the 16 legislators rushed to the Well, though Chautala had gone out of the House at that time, and created ruckus and resorted to slogan shouting against the government.
Later, they were "named" by the Speaker.
Afterwards, Independent legislator, Jai Prakash requested the Speaker to call back the opposition members from both the parties, but as they had left the assembly by then, the remainder of the day's proceedings were conducted in their absence.
