Jharkhand opposition corners Koda on corruption

Ranchi, Aug 20 (UNI) Pandemonium broke loose in Jharkhand Assembly today as the Opposition stalled the proceedings of the House over a corruption issue forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House thrice leading to total lapse of question hour without a single question raised.

After second adjournment, as the House reassembled for the third time at 1230 hrs, the Opposition pressed hard for a reply from Chief Minister Madhu Koda regarding a news item published in today's local Hindi daily. The daily said a person collected more than Rs 200 crore from the market in the name of the Chief Minister during the past few months.

Amid the Opposition sponsored-hullabaloo, Finance Minister Stephen Marandi introduced the first supplementary budget to the tune of Rs 442.717 crore for the current fiscal.

With the noisy scene continuing, Speaker Alamgir Alam adjourned the House for the third time till 1400 hrs.

Earlier, when the Speaker announced the House to begin question hour, Opposition Leader Arjun Munda rose to bring the attention of the House to the news item accusing the Madhu Koda government of promoting corruption in the state.

The NDA-led Opposition shouted slogans and squatted on the floor of the House and were in no mood to relent even though the Speaker repeatedly urged the members to occupy their seats to allow the proceedings of the House unhindered.

As the Opposition continued with their protest the Speaker was left with no other option but to adjourn the House for three times.

UNI