Shimla, August 22 (PTI) Amid the standoff in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly over alleged insult to the national anthem by the BJP, Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur on Saturday said it must be verified whether the allegations made by the ruling party are substantiated by evidence.
Thakur said the chief minister and cabinet members have levelled serious allegations against the opposition BJP regarding insult to the national anthem and demanded the video footage of the assembly proceedings from August 21 be made available to the opposition to substantiate these allegations.
On Friday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh accused BJP legislatures of insulting the national anthem.
The leader of opposition on Saturday said all BJP MLAs were present during the national anthem and the issue regarding the national song Vande Mataram was raised after completion of the national anthem rendition.
Thakur said when the House resumed at 2 pm post adjournment, the Speaker asked the chief minister to deliver his statement, as the previous session had been disrupted.
He said as soon as the chief minister began speaking, ruling party MLAs stood up and started shouting slogans, while opposition legislators remained seated and listened to the chief minister.
Thakur alleged that ruling party MLAs and even cabinet ministers repeatedly shouted slogans, disrupting House proceedings. Despite repeated insistence by opposition members to restore order and continue proceedings, ultimately, the Speaker adjourned the House.
The leader of opposition alleged that after the sloganeering, ruling party MLAs walked out of the House and continued shouting slogans outside. Later, BJP MLAs sat on a dharna outside the Speaker’s office demanding the assembly proceedings be conducted.
Thakur said this is the first time such a situation arose where the opposition wants House proceedings to continue while the ruling party is bent on disrupting them.
He said, on behalf of all opposition MLAs, he formally requested the assembly secretariat to provide the video recording of the August 21 session, asserting that the footage is property of the assembly and the opposition has the right to access it.
Thakur mentioned that the Speaker has assured him a ruling on this matter will be delivered Monday.
He further said if the video recording is not provided, the opposition will present its case before the Governor and is prepared to approach the high court if necessary.
He declined to comment on the chief minister’s claim that the opposition had disrupted House proceedings. He said the opposition is cooperating to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
Thakur alleged that the ‘walkout’ from the House was instigated by the ruling party, and the chief minister’s intention was to have the proceedings adjourned. PTI BPL ARB ARB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.