Seeking discussion on pay band irregularities in Himachal Pradesh Police, Congress on Saturday staged a walkout from the assembly after they were denied a debate on the issue.

As soon as the house convened on the 2nd day of the winter session of state assembly at Tapovan in Dharamshala in Kangra district, opposition members led by the Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri sought a debate on the issue and moved adjournment motion.

However, Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar denied the motion and said Agnihotri, Jagat Singh Negi, and Nand Lal had given adjournment notice to seek discussion on issues pertaining to police personnel.

“There was a pending starred question from the monsoon session which is scheduled for 13 December and the reply on the same will be tabled in the house. If the opposition members want they can discuss the issue on Monday and ask supplementary questions,” he said while denying the debate.

But the Congress members weren’t satisfied with the reply and termed it as stifling the voice of opposition. The opposition members then moved into the well of the house and started raising slogans against the state government, and later staged walkouts from the house.

Talking to the media, Agnihotri accused the state government of partial treatment with the police force and said Congress was with the cops in their struggle to seek better pay bands.

“There were anomalies in pay scales of the police personnel and when their family members raised the demand in front of BJP national chief J P Nadda, a case was filed against them,” he said while demanding withdrawal of the case.

Meanwhile, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj accused the opposition members of creating a ruckus in the house to remain in the media limelight and said the pay anomalies were the result of decisions of the previous Congress government.

“It was in 2013 when the then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh led Congress government made changes in the Recruitment and Promotion Rules which was proving a hurdle in regularisation of constables. But the Congress members were creating disruption in the house while ignoring this crucial fact and it seems that they were deliberately adopting such tactics to waste the public money and time of the house,” he added.

He stated that their disruption tactics were evident as the Congress leaders moved a no-confidence motion against the state government on Friday when they didn’t have the required strength present in the house.

It seemed that there was no consensus among opposition members over which issue to raise in the house while wasting the precious time of the house which otherwise should be utilised to raise issues pertaining to public welfare, he added.