Ruckus over sloganeering

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 13

The ruling and Opposition sparred over the slogans raised by Congress legislators against members of the ruling party and the Speaker yesterday.

Just after Question Hour today, BJP MLA from Nurpur Rakesh Pathania said Opposition members should apologise for the slogans raised against members of the ruling party. He alleged that they had raised slogans ‘Sanghi bhangi’ and ‘Sarkari gundas’ against the BJP MLAs.

The Congress MLAs reacted to his allegations and both Opposition and ruling party legislators started raising slogans against each other, leading to pandemonium in the House.

Speaker Rajiv Bindal tried to pacify the members but his appeals failed to yield any result. The Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour. As the House assembled after adjournment, Congress legislators again started raising slogans. CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri also objected to statements of the ruling party members that he had been granted a favour by being accorded ‘the leader of the Opposition’ status. The CM was free to withdraw the notification granting him the status. The House was put in order after the Speaker allowed the CLP leader to address the House.

The CM objected to the words like ‘Sarkari Gundagardi’. He said most of the members were experienced and should shun such words.

Curb graft in coop societies: Saizal

Responding to a resolution on corruption in cooperative societies moved by the Chintpurni MLA Balbir Singh, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Rajiv Saizal said that government was concerned over cases of corruption coming to fore in Cooperative banks and Cooperative societies and various steps have been taken to tackle the vice. The minister said there were provisions in the Cooperative Societies Act to deal with corruption