Opposition's boycott forces adjournment of Question Hour

JAIPUR: Question Hour at the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly on Tuesday was held without the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), following the Opposition's boycott of the Question Hour. The BJP had sought an immediate explanation from the state government about lathicharge on 'vidhyarthi mitras' late on Monday night. Led by the leader of Opposition Vasundhara Raje, the party staged a boycott after the speaker D S Shekhawat said the opposition would be allowed to raise the issue after the question hour.
With the BJP legislators not present in the house to read their questions, only six questions were taken up from the 19 listed. The Question Hour got over ahead of its schedule, forcing the assembly speaker to adjourn the house 12 minutes before as no other business can be taken up during that hour. According to assembly officials, this is probably the first time in over three decades that the Question Hour had to be adjourned ahead of its scheduled time as all questions were read out.
The issue was again raised by the Opposition as the house assembled for zero hour at noon, only to stage a walkout after not being satisfied with the state government's reply. Minister of state for home Virendra Beniwal, in his reply, had denied that the police lathicharged the protesters.
It was senior BJP legislator Gulab Chand Kataria who first demanded an official statement from the state government over the incident, during the question hour. "The lathicharge on vidhyarthi mitras, who were on a dharna demanding better pay and permanent jobs, is undemocratic. They have a right to protest and the state government cannot use force just because they raised their voice. Who is responsible for the police resorting to lathicharge on the protesters at 1 am when they were sleeping?" said Kataria. He lashed out at chief minister Ashok Gehlot saying that the lathicharge was unfortunate and shameful in a state where the leader is known to be a 'Gandhian'.
With Shekhawat paying heed to their demand and insisting on a discussion only after the question hour, the BJP legislators walked into the well raising slogans against the state government. "It is sad to see the state government treat peaceful protesters the way it did. It is an important issue that needs to be raised. As a mark of protest, we boycott the question hour,'' Raje informed the Speaker.
As the house assembled at noon, Kataria again raked up the issue. The house witnessed unruly scenes as the BJP legislators continued their protests. Deputy leader of Opposition Ghanshyam Tiwari demanded that the post of vidhyarthi mitras be regularised.
Virendra Beniwal rose to give a statement, however, as uproar continued despite the speaker's warnings, Shekhawat decided to continue with the proceedings. This again led the BJP legislators to walk into the well and Shekhawat assured that Beniwal would speak only after they return to their benches.
Beniwal said that the protesters - vidhyarthi mitras and para teachers - wanted to meet the chief minister and submit a memorandum. "They met CM's OSD and the education minister but continued with their dharna even after the permitted time period was over. The para teachers left after DCP (South) explained to them the situation while vidhyarti mitras stayed,'' said Beniwal, accusing the Opposition for raising a baseless issue.
He said local police detained 13 protesters after they started creating a ruckus, of which 11 were released later while two were arrested. He insisted that no force had been used on the protesters. This led to an uproar in the Opposition benches. "The state government is denying what is already known to everybody and is a fact. We are responsible elected representatives and cannot be a party to this lie. The state government is deliberately trying to mislead us," said Raje, announcing a walkout.