Bitter exchanges, BJP walkout mar last day’s proceedings

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 31

The BJP today staged a walkout in the Assembly after being denied an opportunity to raise corruption and other issues with bitter exchanges between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal marring the proceedings.

Notwithstanding efforts by Speaker BBL Butail to break the impasse by convening an all-party meeting, the House could not function and business for the day was completed amidst sloganeering and later in the absence of the BJP MLAs.

The BJP demanded removal of Neeraj Bharti as Chief parliamentary Secretary for his objectionable Facebook posts about BJP and its leaders.

The highlight once again today was trading of personal charges between Virbhadra and Dhumal. Virbhadra accused the Opposition of stalling the proceedings of the House and said false cases had been filed against him during the BJP regime but he came out clean.

“Now once again both Dhumal and his MP son are raising my income tax returns case but I will prove my innocence and come out clean,” he remarked. Virbhadra denied that he had torn the papers given to him by BJP Chief and said he had only returned it to him. Dhumal said it has become a habit of the Chief Minister to blame him for all his woes whether it concerned the CD case he faced, Income Tax return cases or the disputed income from his apple orchards. He added that it did not behove a six-time Chief Minister to act in such a manner.

The moment the proceedings began Randhir Sharma drew the attention of the Speaker towards the three notices he had given, including the one on the issue of corruption. “We want to raise the serious issue of corruption allegations against the Chief Minister and the action taken on the charge-sheet submitted by us but we are not being allowed a debate,” said a Sharma.

Meanwhile, Suresh Bhardwaj also got up and said that the government was not keen that the BJP participates in the House proceedings. “I was late by 10 minutes for the all-party meeting convened by the Speaker as the BJP Legislature Party meeting was on but the Parliamentary Affairs Minister left without meeting us,” said Bhardwaj. He said the Chief Minister was responsible for the happenings on Friday. Despite that the BJP was keen that the House ran smoothly.

As BJP members resorted to sloganeering, the treasury benches also reacted sharply with Chief Parliamentary Secretary Neeraj Bharti engaging in bitter exchanges. There was counter sloganeering and trading of charges between the two sides. The Opposition members finally left the house after about 40 minutes and later the question hour was taken up in their absence.