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House proceedings stalled for third consecutive day

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on Thursday as the Opposition members, demanding a relief package for the farmers who suffered losses in the recent rain and hailstorms in the State, stalled the proceedings for the third day in succession.

One of the Congress MLAs, Mangla Ram Godara, whose area Dungargarh in Bikaner district suffered extensive crop damage, sat on an indefinite dharna in the well of the House while the rest of the Opposition shouted slogans and did not allow Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to make a statement despite repeated pleas from Speaker Sumitra Singh. The House was adjourned thrice before the final adjournment and discussions initiated by the Speaker between Ramnarain Choudhary, the Leader of the Opposition, and the ruling party representatives in her chamber did not yield any result. The ruling party held the view that the Chief Minister should be heard first while the Opposition insisted on the package for farmers.

"I am not the one to be intimidated by this kind of activity," Ms. Raje told the Opposition, who sang, shouted slogans and at times merely made noises to drown her customary reply to the debate on the Budget in the evening. "All these years the people of the State have backed me. I will continue leading Rajasthan to progress," she said summing up her reply, perhaps one of the shortest replies by any Finance Minister in the State so far.

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