Assy adjourned over Cong MLA's manhandling of BJP whip

New Delhi, Sep 13 (UNI) The Delhi Legislative Assembly was today abruptly adjourned, more than an hour ahead of schedule, after uproar by the BJP members over manhandling of the party chief whip in the House Saheb Singh Chauhan by Congress MLA Bhisham Sharma.

The BJP members were on their feet after Mr Chauhan was pushed and manhandled by Mr Sharma while he was making a special mention under Rule 280 on the issue of re-tendering of the Signature Bridge on the Wazirabad barrage.

Peeved at Mr Chauhan's reference in his statement to the Congress MLA's comment on the State Government's delay in the project which had led to escalation of its cost, Mr Sharma suddenly entered the well of the house and used abusive language against Mr Chauhan.

Mr Sharma pushed and manhandled Mr Chauhan, who fell down from his seat.

The Congress MLA's action caused a huge uproar among BJP members with Leader of the Opposition in the House Jagdish Mukhi, Delhi BJP Pradesh Chief Harshvardhan and BJP MLA Vijay Jolly demanding that Mr Sharma be removed from the House.

''He has lowered the dignity of the House,''Dr Harshvardhan said.

Though the Speaker directed house marshals to remove the Congress MLA from the House, the BJP members continued to stage noisy scenes, leading to adjournment of the House for ten minutes at 1530 hrs.

When the House met after the adjournment, Dr Mukhi, raising the issue, said,''the way in which our chief whip has been manhandled is something that has not been witnessed in the entire history of the House. It is a slur on the dignity of the House.'' Dr Mukhi said they would not allow the House to function till a statement by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and an apology for the behaviour by the Congress members. The House was adjourned for a second time till tea.

The BJP protest continued even after the House reassembled after tea with the party persisting with its demand. The BJP members even entered the well of the House shouting slogans 'Gundagardi Nahin Chalegi (such goondaism will not be allowed).

Even as the Speaker continued with the proceedings, the BJP members entered the well and refused to allow the House to function till an apology was forthcoming from the Chief Minister.

Consequently, the Speaker was forced to adjourn the House for the day at 1630 hrs, over an hour ahead of schedule.

Today's incident in the Assembly was reminiscent of the recent unruly scenes in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as members of the ruling BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party traded blows.

The MCD House incident evoked condemnation from several quarters.

UNI