Patna, Feb 16 (PTI) The Bihar Assembly on Monday witnessed ruckus as Lok Janshakti Party (RV), a junior ally of the ruling NDA, accused the RJD of insulting former Union minister, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, while the main opposition party demanded a hike in quotas for deprived castes to 85 per cent.
Speaker Prem Kumar adjourned the House till 2 pm as his appeals to maintain calm fell on deaf ears.
As the House proceedings began, legislators of the LJP(RV), headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, demanded an apology from the RJD, alleging that one of its members had recently insulted Ram Vilas Paswan, the late father of the party’s president.
The allusion was to the use of the Hindi word ‘bechara’ (hapless) by Bodh Gaya MLA Kumar Sarvajeet, who is incidentally a Dalit himself, while speaking about Paswan inside the House last week.
On Sunday, the LJP(RV) had also staged a demonstration in protest against the remark and burnt an effigy of RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition in assembly.
However, on Monday, when journalists approached Kumar Sarvajeet with queries, he said, “The LJP(RV) is trying to deflect attention from the numerous assaults on the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs by the BJP-led government at the Centre. Chirag Paswan has been maintaining a deafening silence. I had said things would not have come to this pass had the late Ram Vilas Paswan been alive.” As soon as the proceedings began, LJP(RV) state president Raju Tiwari said, “The RJD member’s remarks were a reflection of the opposition party’s anti-Dalit mindset. We demand an apology for the insult to our ideological father.” The Speaker chose to carry on with the Question Hour, but, during Zero Hour, LJP(RV) raised the demand for apology again, and the RJD MLAs reacted by waving placards with slogans demanding a hike in quotas for deprived castes to 85 per cent, breaching the 50 per cent cap fixed by the Supreme Court.
As the ruckus continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm. PTI PKD NAC ACD
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