21 Congress MLAs suspended in Chhattisgarh assembly

Raipur, July 26: Twenty-one Congress legislators in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha were suspended as they trooped into the well of the house and raised slogans , demanding a judicial inquiry into the massacre of tribals by Naxalites in South Bastar.

As soon as the house assembled after lunch recess, Congress legislators led by Mr Satya Narian Sharma (Congress) trooped into the well of the house, demanding that the state government should order a judicial probe into the killing of 31 people at Errabore in Dantewara district.

Leader of the opposition Mahendra Karma and 20 other legislators were among those suspended on the basis of a rule of the state assembly which provides for 'automatic suspension' of any member, who tries to disrupt the proceedings from the well of the house.

Speaker Prem Prakash Pandey said he was concerned over members trying to disrupt the proceedings by raising slogans from the well of the house. He pointed out that this Act was in contravention to the rules framed by the members themselves.

Earlier, Mr Ravindra Choubey (Congress) said the Chief Minister did not give replies to the issues raised by the Opposition during the discussion on the adjournment motion on Errabore carnage. Revenue Minister Brijmohan Agrawal said if the Congress was so concerned over the incident, its president Sonia Gandhi would have visited Errabore in tribal Dantewara district.

This statement sparked noisy protests from the opposition members, who started raising slogans against the BJP government.

The Congress members accused the state government of having failed to provide security even to those, who had taken shelter in relief camps.

''If such failures continue, the BJP government will be dismissed. Later, both Prime minister and Congress president will visit Bastar,'' he added.

State Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam also made a remark, sparking protests from the opposition benches.

As the pandemonium continued, the Congress members reached the well of the house and raised slogans demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Earlier during the pre-lunch session, Congress members had stalled the proceedings, demanding that the state government should make an immediate announcement to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Errabore incident.

However, Dr Singh said a high-level committee comprising a Principal Secretary and an Additional Director General of Police had already been set up to inquire into the circumstances that led to the incident.

''We will take an appropriate action on receipt of its report,'' he added.

UNI