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Himachal assembly monsoon session: House adjourned till Monday as National Song ruckus continues
The commotion broke out on Saturday after LoP Jai Ram Thakur, following the Question Hour, asked assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania to play a video from the time the National Anthem was played
The Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly was adjourned for the second consecutive day of the monsoon session as the standoff between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued over the alleged failure to play Vande Mataram at the commencement of the session.
Both Congress and the BJP flayed each other with slogans, criticising the other for disrespecting the National Song and the National Anthem in the House.
The commotion broke out on Saturday after Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Jai Ram Thakur, following the Question Hour, asked assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania to play a video from the time the National Anthem was played. He denied claims that BJP lawmakers insulted the National Anthem on Friday.
“An attempt is being made to create a perception that BJP legislators insulted the National Anthem, which is totally false. The video recording of the House while the National Anthem was being played must be played in the House to see who has insulted the National Anthem,” he said.”
Thakur demanded that if no BJP MLA had insulted the National Anthem, the chief minister should tender an apology, both inside and outside the House.
Responding to the LoP, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the National Anthem and National Song are songs of the Nation and not of any party, region or community. “The Opposition is guilty of insulting the National Anthem,” Sukhu reiterated amid sloganeering by the Opposition.
“The BJP does not even honour the Tricolour, as they had flung shoes on the vehicle of the revenue minister which had the National Flag on it. So they have no right to talk about insulting the National Song,” he said.
As ruckus broke out in the Assembly with both the treasury benches and Opposition trying to undo each other by raising slogans, Speaker Pathania adjourned the House till 2pm.
Soon after the house re-assembled at 2pm, Sukhu reiterated allegations against BJP of insulting the National Anthem. As BJP legislators pressed for playing of the video from Friday in the House, Congress legislators stood up asking BJP legislators to sing the National Song.
This was followed by both Congress and the BJP resorting to slogans like “Rashtragaan ka apman nahi sahega Hindustan” (India will not tolerate the insult of the National Anthem), which again forced the Speaker to adjourn the House until Monday at 2pm.
BJP legislators disrespected National Anthem during proceedings: Congress
The second day of the monsoon session commenced on Saturday with both Congress and the BJP holding protests on Assembly premises against each other.
Congress protested holding placards, accusing the BJP of insulting the National Anthem, while the BJP, denying the charges, accused Congress of deliberately delaying elections of chairperson and deputy chairperson of zila parishad.
The CM, along with his cabinet colleagues and Congress MLAs, staged a protest outside the House on Saturday morning, accusing BJP legislators of disrespecting the National Anthem during the proceedings on the opening day. The Congress legislators raised slogans in support of the National Anthem.
“Yesterday, the BJP MLAs objected when the National Anthem was being sung. The National Anthem has never been disrespected like this before. So Congress MLAs had marched to the assembly to uphold the dignity and respect of the National Anthem,” Sukhu said.
BJP refutes allegations
The BJP, led by the LoP, also staged a protest in the morning while rejecting Sukhu’s allegations that BJP legislators had disrespected the National Anthem and accusing the Congress government of deliberately delaying elections to key panchayati raj bodies in the state.
“Absolutely false, completely false. When the National Anthem started in the assembly yesterday, all opposition members stood in the attention position and the entire National Anthem was sung,” Thakur said.
He said BJP members raised the issue of Vande Mataram only after the National Anthem had concluded, and accused the CM and Congress leaders of spreading misinformation.
