March 23 incident a blot on Bihar Assembly: Speaker

Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Wednesday said that the March 23 incident, when the House witnessed particularly unruly scenes during a debate on the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021 and police had to be called in to evict the protesting Opposition members, was a blot on the legislature and every effort should be made to prevent such recurrence

Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Wednesday said that the March 23 incident, when the House witnessed particularly unruly scenes during a debate on the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021 and police had to be called in to evict the protesting Opposition members, was a blot on the legislature and every effort should be made to prevent such recurrence.

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He was speaking after a debate on the matter, as demanded by the Opposition. Parliamentary affairs minister and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary, however, said there was no relevance of a debate on the matter that was already referred to the ethics committee, but the Chair’s decision was final.

Choudhary said the government had no role in the shameful incident that happened on March 23, as everything was done by the order of the Speaker in view of the ugly situation. “The government wants the House to run smoothly and that is why we are here as a mark of respect to the Chair, even though the government does not have to give any reply on an issue it is not responsible for. The government hopes the debate will put an end to it,” he said.

Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav asked the Speaker by whose order the police entered the House to assault the legislators, the Speaker recited a couplet as to how slippers have to take all the blame if one trips even though it provides all protection.

“March 23 incident was an insult of the House, not of the Chair or any individual. None of us can absolve ourselves. We all must strive to learn from it so that such a situation never recurs,” the Speaker said in his concluding remarks before adjourning the House.

In his speech, Tejashwi said the Opposition’s role could not be undermined by use of force and spoke of how legislators, even female ones, were roughed up by policemen.

Apprehending action against RJD legislators, he said if it were so, he should be the first to face action, but not before action against the erring policemen.

Congress leader Ajeet Sharma and CPI-ML leader Mehboob Alam also supported his argument, demanding action against erring officers first.

Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi said that while none could appreciate the incident, it was equally important to get to the root. “Protests and dharnas have happened in the past also, but I never came across such an incident in my 36-year career as legislator. The protests in the House are symbolic and marshals were always enough to clear the area in the past, as members respected the Chair and the rules and were committed to uphold the sanctity of the House. Let the ethics committee decide the matter and all should accept it,” he added.