Ruckus in Bihar Assembly over Agnipath adjournment motion

Uproarious scenes over demand for rollback of what Opposition MLAs called PM Modi’s ‘dictatorial step’

The Bihar Assembly on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes over the Opposition’s demand for an adjournment motion against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme. Opposition members also called the Agnipath scheme a “dictatorial step” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As soon as the proceedings of the monsoon session of the State Assembly began on Monday, the Opposition members, both inside and outside of the House, set off a din demanding an adjournment motion over the Agnipath scheme. Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Lalit Yadav, Congress’ Ajeet Sharma, and Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist’s (CPI-ML) Satyadev Ram raised the demand for an adjournment motion over the Agnipath scheme for debate, calling it a matter related to national security, and Opposition party MLAs demanded that the Speaker should accept the motion.

However, Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha pleaded that the matter be raised after the Question Hour and, later, even allowed Mr. Yadav, Mr. Sharma and Mr. Ram to read out the text of the motion to “pacify the protesting MLAs”. But the protesting Opposition legislators kept creating uproarious scenes and trooped into the Well of the Assembly demanding a debate on the Agnipath scheme and its rollback.

Earlier, thousands of aspirants in Bihar had protested over the Agnipath scheme for short-term contractual recruitment in the armed forces. Over a dozen trains and railway stations were set on fire; national highways were blocked; offices of the ruling coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at Nawada and Madhepura districts were ransacked; and Internet services were suspended for days in over 20 districts across the State to end the protest. Hundreds of aspirants were arrested and nearly 200 FIRs were lodged against them.

Over the Opposition’s protest in the Assembly on Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhury said the Speaker had already extended the MLAs the favour of allowing them to read out the text. “An adjournment motion is either accepted or rejected by the Speaker,” Mr. Choudhary quipped.

Later, senior State BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad rose in his chair and objected to the Opposition MLAs’ repeated remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “dictatorial step” in implementing the Agnipath scheme. “Shouting slogans against the Prime Minister sets a bad precedent. Opposition members are raising an issue which doesn’t fall under the purview of the State Assembly,” Mr. Prasad said. However, the Opposition members continued their protest, forcing the adjournment of the proceedings till lunch.