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Opposition walks out of the Bihar Assembly

On rejection of a notice moved for an adjournment motion

Patna: The entire Opposition on Friday walked out of the Bihar Assembly after the rejection of a notice moved for an adjournment motion.

The motion sought to discuss steps taken by the State Government to secure the prosecution of politicians whose alleged links with the Ranvir Sena, a private militia of upper caste landlords, had been highlighted by the scrapped Amir Das commission of inquiry.

The House plunged into turmoil when Speaker Uday Narain Chaudhary announced that the notice, served by Amarnath Yadav of CPI-ML and others, had been turned down since the matter was sub-judice. Angry at the rejection, CPI-ML legislators trooped to the well and demanded that it be allowed.

They were soon joined in the well by MLAs of the RJD, while the LJP, Congress, CPI, CPI-M and BSP legislators also supported the demand.

Some protesting MLAs were seen banging the Assembly reporters’ tables.

As the din continued for about 15 minutes, the Speaker ruled that whatever was being said by the legislators when the House was not in order stood expunged.

The Opposition then walked out of the House and, almost simultaneously, the Speaker announced its adjournment about 10 minutes ahead of schedule for lunch.

Later, speaking to reporters, Leader of Opposition Rabri Devi contested the reason cited by the Speaker for rejecting the notice.

The Patna High Court had on July 2 disposed of a PIL challenging Bihar’s NDA government’s decision disbanding the Commission.

It had given a direction to the government to go through the documents of the Amir Das Commission and to take an appropriate decision whether the panel should be revised or a fresh one constituted to go into the alleged nexus between the Sena and politicians, she said.

RJD’s deputy leader in the House Shakeel Ahmed Khan said describing the matter as sub-judice to reject the notice was “misleading” as the court had already disposed of the matter with necessary directions to the government.

Leaders of the legislative parties of the Congress, LJP, CPI-M, CPI, BSP and CPI-M supported the contention of Rabri Devi and Khan and said the entire opposition walked out to protest against the rejection of its “genuine” demand.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice J.N. Bhatt and Justice S K Sinha, while disposing of the PIL, had asked the court’s registry to make available to the state government all documents submitted to it by the disbanded commission with respect to the probe conducted by it.

Terming the NDA government’s decision to scrap the Commission as “politically motivated”, social activists Ramji Prasad, Ravi Bhushan Prasad Verma and Vinayak Vakeel had moved the High Court to seek a directive to the state to either revive the panel or to reconstitute it to probe alleged links between politicians and the Sena.

The petitioners alleged that the State Government’s decision to disband the panel was part of a “well hatched” conspiracy to save some leaders of the ruling JD-U-BJP coalition, against whom the Commission had levelled charges of links with the Sena.

Soon after the massacre of 61 Dalits by the Ranvir Sena at Lakshmanpur Bathe village in Jehanabad district in December 1996, the erstwhile RJD government had constituted the Commission headed by retired Justice Amir Das to probe the alleged nexus between the proscribed group and politicians.

During the recording of evidence, allegations of extending political patronage to the Sena were levelled against leaders from across the political spectrum. -- PTI

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Opposition walks out of the Bihar Assembly

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