Nitish Kumar condemns heckling of RS dy chairman

New Delhi, Sep 21: The heckling of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh in the House during the passage of farm bills has "hurt" the prestige of Bihar, and people of the state will give a befitting reply to this, the leaders of the state's ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said whatever happened in Rajya Sabha on Sunday was very wrong and the more it is condemned, the less it would be. He was speaking at a virtual programme attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects and inaugurated optical fibre internet service.

State's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said people of Bihar, which is going to the assembly polls soon, will give a befitting reply. Harivansh is a respected person in Bihar and across the country, and this incident has hurt the state's pride, he said.

Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members who were demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

After a heated debate, Rajya Sabha passed the two bills amid a bedlam as some opposition members, ignoring the COVID-19 protocol, charged towards the podium of Deputy Chairman Harivansh, flung the rule book at him and tore official papers. They yanked his microphone and heckled him over their demand for a division of vote on their motion to refer the legislation to a select committee.