The budget session of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly began on Monday on a rowdy note as opposition members tried to disrupt Governor Kalraj Mishra’s address by raising the issue of massive paper leak in the state government’s recruitment examinations. Shri Mishra cut short his speech after reading a few pages and left the House.
Speaker CP Joshi suspended for the day three agitating MLAs of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), who were demanding a CBI inquiry into the paper leak during the recent teacher recruitment exam, and ordered them to be marshaled. BJP MLAs also reached the Well of the House and protested.
Senior BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria raised the issue as soon as the proceedings of the House began. Opposition members joined him and created ruckus demanding a CBI inquiry into the paper leak incident. Mr. Kataria said that the Governor, as the constitutional head of the State, should intervene in the matter and secure the future of lakhs of students.
After reading a few pages of the House, the Governor’s address was placed on the Table of the House. After his departure, the House was adjourned. After this, when the meeting was held again, Congress MLA Anil Kumar Sharma, who was elected in the by-election from Churu’s Sardarshahar, was administered the oath of office.
RLP MLAs Narayan Beniwal, Pukhraj Garg and Indira Devi continued their protest and came to the Well of the House carrying placards demanding a CBI inquiry into the paper leak cases. Other opposition members watched him silently from their seats at this point.
When his repeated instructions to the RLP MLAs to return to their seats did not work, the Speaker ordered Marshall to escort them out of the House and suspended them for the rest of the day.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot later told reporters outside the assembly that the opposition legislators created a ruckus because they did not have the courage to listen to the governor’s address, which detailed the “huge achievements” of the Congress government. “They came up with a plan to disrupt [the address] So that the message of achievements is not allowed to reach the public.
Shri Gehlot said that his government is more concerned about paper leak than BJP and RLP and has taken very strong action in the latest instance. He said that the Rajasthan government has provided more jobs to the youth than any other state in the country.
The House paid tributes to former West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, former MLAs Bhanwar Lal Sharma and Rajendra Kumar Bhartiya and the victims of the recent Jodhpur cylinder blast incident.
Apart from the paper leak issue, the opposition has sought to raise matters related to rising crimes against women, rising unemployment, the state government’s alleged failure to fulfill earlier budgetary promises and the resignation of Congress MLAs after the failed CLP meeting in the budget session. There is a possibility. Mr Gehlot will present his fifth and final budget in the assembly on February 10.