MP Assembly makes history with four days’ adjournment

BHOPAL, OCT 31: Legislative history of sorts was created in Madhya Pradesh Assembly last week when the House was adjourned for four days ...

BHOPAL, OCT 31: Legislative history of sorts was created in Madhya Pradesh Assembly last week when the House was adjourned for four days in a row till October 29, without transacting any business, following the BJP’s demand that the government suspend the then Superintendent of Police of Khandwa, R.C. Patel, for beating up a party MLA.

The winter session of the Assembly began on October 25 and the House was adjourned after paying tributes to prominent personalities who had passed away. But from the next day onwards, the House witnessed unprecedented adjournments with no business being transacted for four days in a row over the issue of beating up of BJP MLA Kunwar Vijay Shah at Khandwa on September 27.

BJP members trooped into the Well of the House where they shouted slogans demanding suspension of Patel. They did not allow even the Question Hour to take place despite repeated pleas by Speaker Sriniwas Tiwari that they could raise the issue after the Question Hour was over.

Story continues below this ad

The BJP had also givennotice for an adjournment motion and the Speaker and the government were willing to get it discussed but even this was not acceptable to the Opposition, which insisted that no proceedings would be allowed in the house until Patel was suspended.

For three days, CM Digvijay Singh insisted that there was no question of suspending the Superintendent of Police since he was not present where Shah was beaten up.

But while the deadlock in the House continued, the Speaker referred the issue to the House Privilege Committee, which submitted its report to him on Thursday.

On Friday, the Speaker told the House that he had received the report of the House Privilege Committee and based on its recommendation, he directed the state government to suspend the SP and inform him of the action taken in this regard.

Story continues below this ad

The Chief Minister also said his government would obey the directives of the Speaker and assured the House that Patel would be suspended by Friday evening.

But all hopes that this would lead to normalproceedings being resumed in the House were dashed when leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party Dauram Ratnakar marched into the Well of the House demanding that a criminal case be filed under Section 30 of the IPC against the killers of Kishen Basod, who died in police custody in Khandwa district on September 25.

Ratnakar was joined by BJP members in the Well of the House and amidst slogan shouting, the Speaker adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

During the 10-minute adjournment, leaders of all Opposition parties decided in the Speaker’s chamber to allow House proceedings to continue but this did not happen again as Ratnakar insisted that a case under Section 302 of the IPC be registered against the “killers” of Basod.