The Bihar Assembly today plunged into pandemonium once again over stinging remarks by Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav. Angry ruling party members charged Tejashwi with breaking the House decorum while asking him to tender an apology for his conduct.
It all happened after Tejashwi demanded answers from sugarcane minister Pramod Kumar with regard to the closed sugar mills in the state. However, the minister’s reply didn’t satisfy the Opposition leader as he finally passed some embarrassing remarks against the minister.
“Aapko mantri kaun bana diya? Kahan-kahan se log aa jate hain(Who made you the minister? How undeserving people have managed to become the minster),” remarked Tejashwi in the House.
The remark triggered strong protests from the ruling parties as they asked the Opposition leader to tender public apology and maintain the House decorum. “I never encountered such a situation in the past. The people holding constitutional posts don’t have the manner as to how to behave in the House. We won’t tolerate the insult of our minister,” cried former BJP minister Nand Kishore Yadav.
The deputy chief minister-cum- finance minister Tarkishore Prasad also raised strong objection over the matter and straightway blamed the Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha for “patronising” Tejashwi. “How can he (Tejashwi) ask such a question? You are giving protection to the Leader of the Opposition. Humiliation of ministers will not be tolerated,” warned Prasad.
He also charged the Opposition leader with starting a wrong trend in the House by targeting the ministers in such a way. Several other ministers like energy minister Bijendra Yadav, industry minister Shahnawaz Hussain and agriculture minister Amerendra Pratap Singh also hit out at Tejashwi for showing scant regard for the ministers.
This was the second time in quick succession that the House witnessed chaos, prompting the Speaker to adjourn the proceeding to restore normalcy. Even more serious situation had arisen on Saturday when the rival sides nearly came to blows over the remark that the revenue minister Ram Surat Rai was allegedly involved in illegal liquor trade. The overall situation turned so critical that marshals had to be called to form a protective wall between agitated members from both sides who looked ready to be engaged in fisticuffs.