UP Speaker orders probe against 'stripper' MLAs

 Uttar Pradesh Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey has ordered a probe into the “stripping” act by two Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) legislators who ripped off their ‘kurtas’ in the Assembly during the governor’s address to the joint session of the House.

Pandey has directed the conduct committee to probe the matter and give its report so that necessary action could be taken against Sudesh Sharma and Veer Pal Rathi.

The Speaker’s action followed a complaint by Apna Dal woman legislator Anupriya Patel. Patel said that there were women legislators in the Assembly and to strip in their presence was not only undignified but also reflected insensitivity on the part of the two RLD legislators.

In a letter to the Speaker, Patel said that the act of the MLAs had lowered the dignity of the House besides causing embarrassment to women legislators. “The women MLAs really felt very awkward at that moment,” she said. The MLA had also demanded censure motion on Wednesday’s incident.

Patel also criticised UP minister Azam Khan for taking the incident lightly. Khan, while calling the two RLD MLAs “shameless”, said that he was expecting a “full exposure”.
Sudesh Sharma and Veer Pal Rathi had ripped off their ‘kurtas’ before an astonished members of the treasury benches. The governor left the House without completing his address amid the chaos and din.

Rathi and Sharma, however, defended their behavior. “We had no alternative...this government has become so insensitive to the problems of the sugarcane farmers that their plight does not move it. Despite making a promise, the government did not ensure payment of arrears of the farmers,” they said.