Uproar inside Bihar Assembly over new legislation; Opposition MLAs thrashed
A Bill introduced by the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar led to unprecedented chaos inside the Assembly on Tuesday, where cops were deployed to physically evict unruly Opposition MLAs. The marshals inside the Vidhan Sabha found themselves outnumbered. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Satish Kumar was carried on a stretcher after being allegedly manhandled. The Opposition fumed after yesterday's episode. Here's what went down.
Why did the government and Opposition come at loggerheads?
The new Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, sparked fresh trouble between the ruling Janata Dal (United)-government and Opposition led by RJD. CM Kumar, who holds the Home portfolio, has deemed the reform necessary. The Bill seeks to turn the existing Bihar Military Police (BMO) into a Special Armed Force on the lines of CISF to be deployed at industrial units.
Opposition objected to the 'black' legislation
However, the Opposition has termed it as the "black" legislation, condemning the government's move to give more teeth to forces. It has slammed Section 7 of the legislation, which empowers the special force to arrest a person and search premises, without even a warrant, just on the basis of suspicion. Till now, only the district police had the power to arrest people.
Opposition MLAs sat outside the Assembly, created ruckus inside
The Bill was passed, nevertheless, late in the evening, past the business hours of the Assembly. The Opposition staged a "walkout," squatting outside the Assembly and raising slogans. Inside the building, RJD's women MLAs stopped the speaker from taking his chair. Unruly Opposition MLAs also threw away the chair of the secretary and then prohibited the staff from bringing in another piece of furniture.
RJD MLA tried snatching papers from BJP member
The treasury benches saw bedlam as well. At one point, an RJD MLA tried snatching papers from Prem Kumar, of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who sat on Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha's chair. He had taken a break from the chaos. Seeing this, cabinet minister Ashok Choudhary apparently got physical with the RJD MLA. The Opposition MLAs also prevented Sinha from leaving his chamber.
Yadav was detained; RJD MLAs allegedly thrashed
Reportedly, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, his brother Tej Pratap, and nearly 50 other Opposition MLAs reached the Dak Bungalow crossing in capital Patna, to oppose the legislation. Police had to use water cannons to control the situation. Tejashwi Yadav was also detained. The cops also entered the Assembly, forcefully removing the MLAs. RJD and CPI(M) MLAs claimed they were "severely thrashed."
One MLA exited the Assembly on a stretcher
On social media, shocking images of MLAs being pulled and male personnel dragging a female legislator surfaced. Satish Kumar, who alleged that he was assaulted by "police and local goons" and left the Assembly on a stretcher, said, "See how an elected representative was treated today." RJD's Manoj Kumar Jha has given a suspension of business notice in the Parliament over the uproar.
