Ranchi, March 5 BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the Jharkhand Assembly during a debate on the state budget on Wednesday, alleging bias against the opposition.
Speaking to the media outside the House, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi accused Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato of favouring the ruling party. "The Speaker is running the House arbitrarily. Ruling party MLAs get more time to speak, while the opposition’s voice is systematically suppressed," he alleged.
Marandi claimed that opposition members are frequently interrupted when they speak. "Today, BJP MLA Neera Yadav was repeatedly disrupted during the budget discussion. When she demanded additional time to compensate for the interruptions, the Speaker refused. This is sheer arbitrariness and an attempt to silence the opposition. We walked out in protest," he said.
He also criticised the JMM for threatening to block mineral transport, calling it a ploy to shield illegal coal transportation. "Every day, 400 to 500 trucks of coal are smuggled from Dhanbad-Bokaro with the full protection of the police, acting on the state government’s directions," he alleged.
Responding to the ruling party’s claim that the Centre owes Jharkhand Rs 1.36 lakh crore, Marandi said: "Despite repeated demands, the JMM has failed to provide a clear breakup of these dues. This issue is a legacy of the Congress, with whom JMM is now allied."
He further asserted that the Modi government is committed to addressing Jharkhand’s concerns, but the Congress-JMM alliance is only interested in exploiting the state’s resources.
Earlier Opposition legislators joined the protests by the ruling party MLAs who cornered the government in the Assembly over a Rs 100 crore embezzlement scam in Jharkhand’s Drinking Water and Sanitation Department.
BJP MLA Naveen Jaiswal remarked: "If ruling party MLAs have to fight so hard for action, one can imagine how the government handles issues raised by the opposition."
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