Bihar Assembly paralysed as BJP creates ruckus over riots

Patna: The Bihar Assembly plunged into turmoil on Monday with the BJP and the ruling grand alliance trading charges over the violence that broke out in parts of Bihar following Ram Navami celebrations, forcing the speaker to adjourn the House for the day.

Earlier, Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary had adjourned the House till 2 pm within minutes of commencement at 11 am due to uproarious scenes. Tuesday is a holiday in Bihar on account of Mahavir Jayanti.

No sooner than the House had assembled, Leader of the Opposition and other BJP members were on their feet, raising the issue of the riots that began on Thursday evening, during Ram Navami festivities, and continued till Friday, forcing Union Home Minister Amit Shah to cancel his visit to Sasaram on Sunday.

The opposition members, though, were soon outnumbered and outshouted by those in the `Mahagathbandhan,' who accused the BJP-RSS of involvement in the riots, and also deplored Shah's remarks at a rally in Nawada district on Sunday, where he had vowed to “hang upside down” the rioters if the BJP came to power in the state.

The riots had broken out in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif on the evening of Ram Navami, when processions were taken out across the state.

The state government, however, asserted that “administrative promptness” foiled “full-blown” communal conflagration in the two towns.

“We had hoped that as the home minister of the country, he will make an appeal for peace. But the language he used, expressions like hanging upside down (‘ulta latka denge’) showed that top BJP leaders are losing their sense of propriety as the Lok Sabha elections are nearing,” alleged Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, the state’s parliamentary affairs minister.

Chaudhary had made an offer of a statement on the riots, on the floor of the House, which, however, could be of no avail in the face of the raucous scenes.

The senior JD(U) leader, nonetheless, spoke to the media outside the assembly and charged Shah with having courted “sasti lokpriyata” (cheap popularity) in his Nawada speech, besides trying to undermine the chief minister by choosing to have a word with the governor on the situation in the state.

“We follow the Nitish model wherein nobody is framed on false charges and no one who is guilty of wrongdoing is spared either. There were attempts to disrupt communal harmony in the state. But, administrative promptness prevented full-blown riots,” asserted the minister, who enjoys the reputation of the government’s trouble-shooter.

He also deplored the conduct of BJP MLAs inside the House and chuckled when asked about demands for “banning the RSS”, from which the opposition party draws its ideology, raised by members of the Left parties, which support the state government from outside.

Indirectly referring to the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, Chaudhary pointed out that the RSS was banned by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, for whom the BJP claims to have immense respect.

He also rejected the demand for a judicial inquiry into the riots raised by leaders like Union minister Giriraj Singh, and asked “what is not known about the incidents that we need to have such a probe? The government though will be grateful if the media comes up with video clips wherein the rioters could be identified”.

In an indirect attack on the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, Chaudhary expressed concern that “young people in the age group of 15-20 years were being fed with communal poison”.

Meanwhile Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters), J S Gangwar, said “normalcy has been restored” in both riot-hit towns, and extra deployment of forces remains in place as a preventive measure.