UP Assembly stalled over recurring violence in state

 Opposition members created a ruckus in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Monday over recurring communal violence and alleged deteriorating law and order situation in the state, forcing the Assembly to adjourn for the day.

However, the government tabled its first supplementary budgetary proposals worth Rs 5,861.29 crore amid the din.

Opposition members, especially of the Bahujan Samaj Party, were up on their feet immediately after the House sat for proceedings in the morning, demanding dismissal of the Samajwadi Party government for its alleged failure to check recurring communal riots and the rising crime graph.

Carrying banners and posters, BSP members trooped into the well of the House, shouting anti-government slogans.

The Question Hour was washed out as BSP members refused to take their seats, forcing Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey to adjourn the House briefly. The scene was repeated when the House re-assembled.

Rashtriya Lok Dal members, who have been demanding a hike in the support price of cane, also joined the BSP members in the well. Pandey tried to restore order, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Though BJP and Congress members also raised similar issues, they did not troop into the well.

Urban development minister Azam Khan later said BSP did not believe in democracy and was disrupting House proceedings. BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddique said the government must be dismissed as it has failed to protect people’s lives.