Congress MLAs force adjournments on Haryana assembly session opening day

Speaker adjourns House thrice as Congress MLAs march to well demanding no other business be taken up before issue of failing law and order, particularly crimes against women and growing gangsterism, is deliberated.

The monsoon session of the Haryana assembly opened on a stormy note as opposition Congress MLAs forced repeated adjournments demanding that an adjournment motion on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state be taken up immediately.

Congress MLAs protesting against the deteriorating law and order situation in Haryana on the opening day of the monsoon session of the assembly in Chandigarh on Friday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

The Congress MLAs assembled in the well of the House to vociferously demand that no other business should be taken up by the assembly before the issue of the failing law and order situation, particularly crimes against women and growing gangsterism, is deliberated.

The pandemonium continued as the Congress MLAs hit out at the BJP’s flagship programme by showing posters of ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao kya hua’.

Speaker Harvinder Kalyan tried to persuade the opposition legislators to let the proceedings continue according to the schedule and questions be taken up for the day. But the Congress MLAs remained defiant and continued with their protest, forcing an adjournment for half an hour.

The ruling BJP MLAs tried to counter the protesting Congress lawmakers by making noise.

The House assembled againat 3.11pm with chief minister Nayab Singh Saini assuring the House that the government is ready to have a discussion on the law and order situation and answer the questions of the opposition.

However, the Congress MLAs again assembled in the well of the House holding banners and demanded that the adjournment motion be allowed to be taken up by the Speaker first.

When the Congress MLAs did not relent, the Speaker adjourned the House for another 20 minutes.

When the House reassembled, proceedings had to be adjourned for half an hour again after the Congress MLAs got agitated over the chief minister’s remark that incidents of crime had gone unregistered during their party’s rule in the state.