Bedlam in House after minister tells LoP ‘aukat mein raho’

Bhopal: In a serious showdown on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday, state minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, facing calls for resignation from Congress members over the deaths linked to groundwater contamination in Indore's Bhagirathpura, made a personal remark against LoP Umang Singhar, telling him: "Aukat mein raho" (stay within your limits). The remark provoked a heated exchange between the Treasury and Opposition, forcing the House into repeated adjournments before Chief minister Mohan Yadav tendered an apology on behalf of his senior cabinet colleague.House proceedings were thrown into disarray as tempers flared, prompting the Speaker to call repeated adjournments for order to be restored.As bedlam broke over Vijayvargiya's remark, Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar did some plain-speaking. "The parliamentary affairs minister (Vijayvargiya) has loads of experience. Yet, certain boundaries were breached today. It is a cause for concern. I request the Treasury and the Opposition to sort out the matter and let the House resume normal discourse," the Speaker said, holding both sides across the aisle responsible for what went down in the House.The CM, who was seated in the Assembly as the showdown unfolded, apologised to the Chair saying he regretted if any offensive word was uttered knowingly or unknowingly.At this, the LoP acknowledged the CM's apology, saying, "I respect the chief minister's gesture. Being a four-time MLA, I respect the time-honoured customs governing the conduct of members in the Assembly. If I acted inappropriately in any way, I, too, express my regret."The man at the centre of the storm, meanwhile, was ‘unhappy' with his conduct in the House saying that such incidents have seldom happened in his 37 years of political experience. "I am not happy with my conduct today. If people in responsible positions don't maintain decorum, how will other members? I don't know how it happened."The LoP then directed some hand gestures towards Vijayvargiya, even as the Congress demanded a clear apology from the minister.Before chaos gripped the House, the Congress had put forward a demand for a discussion on the deaths tied to sewage contamination of groundwater in Bhagirathpura. The Speaker assured a discussion on the issue on Friday.Vijayvargiya, who also holds the urban development and housing ministry, had earlier come under severe criticism after he snapped at a reporter and used an offensive word at being questioned over the Bhagirathpura deaths.