18 Jharkhand BJP MLAs suspended from assembly, removed by marshals; oppn says black day

Eighteen Jharkhand BJP MLAs were suspended from the assembly till 2 PM of August 2 and were removed by marshals after they refused to leave the House on Thursday.

Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto took action against the BJP members after they created ruckus in the House in protest against the eviction of opposition MLAs by marshals on the previous day and Chief Minister Hemant Soren's "refusal" to reply to their queries.

Leader of the Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri alleged that dictatorship prevails in Jharkhand since the BJP MLAs did not hurl bombs in the House as was done by revolutionaries in Delhi assembly in 1929 but followed the non-violent path of Mahatma Gandhi.

He also alleged that action was taken against the saffron party legislators at the behest of the JMM-led government.

Several BJP MLAs of Jharkhand spent Wednesday night in the assembly lobby after marshals evicted them from the well of the House where they were protesting against Soren's alleged refusal to reply to their questions on key issues including employment.

The House proceedings were scheduled to begin at 11 am on Thursday.

The BJP legislators, however, trooped into the well ahead of the start of the session and raised slogans demanding resignation of the chief minister. They were also seen tearing some documents while protesting.

Members of the ruling and opposition parties were seen exchanging heated arguments.

As the chaotic situation continued after the House assembled, Mahto suspended 18 of the 20 BJP legislators present. Since they refused to leave even after being suspended, he called marshals who removed those opposition members.

The Speaker said the Assembly Ethics Committee will probe the matter and submit a report to him within a week.

He then adjourned the house till 12.30 pm.

BJP legislators told reporters outside the assembly that democracy was "murdered" by the Speaker at the behest of the JMM-led government in the state.

The Leader of the Opposition claimed that Thursday's act showed that the state government has turned into a dictator.

"We requested the government to reply to questions on issues related to the people. What happened is an attempt to suppress the voice of opposition MLAs," Bauri said.

The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance added a black chapter to the history of the assembly, he claimed.

When the House re-assembled at 12.30 pm, Bauri said this was the black day in democracy after Emergency.

“We did not bomb the House like British Parliament… We followed Bapu’s Ahimsa,“ he said adding that 18 MLAs were suspended under government pressure.

He was referring to the 1929 incident when Bhagat Singh threw two low-intensity bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to “make the deaf hear” and inspire fellow Indians to fight the British.

Bauri said, “We just demanded the CM’s reply on promises made by the JMM-led alliance when it came to power in 2019”.

Bauri and Neelkanth Munda who were not suspended then staged a walkout.

Sudesh Mahto, chief of BJP ally Ajsu Party, urged the Speaker to reconsider the decision to suspend 18 MLAs.

He said the matter could have been placed before the Business Advisory Committee before such an extreme step.

The speaker replied, “There is a limit to toleration. Everyone has the right to disagree but disagreement had turned into aggression here and they crossed the boundary.”

After that, proceedings continued for a little over half an hour before the Speaker adjourned the House till 11 AM on Friday.

Outside the assembly, Bauri told reporters: "We will uproot this government. Our electricity was cut off, we were stopped from going to toilets by the government yesterday. People are watching all and they would give a befitting reply to the JMM."

The assembly elections in the state are due later this year.

The opposition BJP and AJSU Party MLAs were evicted by marshals from the House to the lobby late last night after they refused to budge from the Well even after the House was adjourned around 3 pm.

Several BJP legislators slept on bed covers and blankets on the lobby floor near the assembly building entrance on Wednesday night.