Jaipur, Sep 8 The Rajasthan Assembly on Monday passed the Fisheries Amendment Bill amid continuous uproar by Congress MLAs over the issue of deteriorating law and order.
The bill significantly increases penalties for illegal fishing -- the fine for a first offence has been raised from Rs 500 to Rs 25,000, while the fine for a repeat offense has been hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 50,000.
Despite the noisy protest, only BSP legislator Manoj Nyangli and Independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati participated in the debate for the passing of bill.
Bhati objected to the steep fines, saying poor fishermen often violate rules unintentionally and that such high penalties would be an excessive burden.
The uproar began during Zero Hour when Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully demanded a debate on law and order. Congress MLAs entered the Well, raised slogans, and demanded action.
Speaker Vasudev Devnani said the matter would be discussed in the BAC meeting, but the sloganeering continued.
Earlier, in morning, outside the House, Congress MLAs staged a protest with posters, chanting slogans like “Bhajan Sarkar Hosh Me Aao” and “Sarkari zameenon Ki Chori Band Karo".
During Question Hour, Speaker Vasudev Devnani reprimanded Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel while he was responding to a query by Congress MLA Sohanlal Nayak on consolidation notification delays.
Patel remarked that the Leader of Opposition should “keep listening", prompting the Speaker to warn him to address the Chair, not individual MLAs.
Patel replied that he was “answering here only", drawing further displeasure from the Speaker.
As the ruckus escalated during the Fisheries Bill discussion, Patel accused the Congress of creating chaos, saying: “Eight crore people are watching the behavior of Congress. They create a ruckus.”
He then raised slogans of “Congress Hai-Hai". Seeing no end to the uproar, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings first till 3 p.m., and later till 3.30 p.m.
This is the latest in a series of protests staged by Congress MLAs during the ongoing monsoon session.
Almost every day, there have been disruptions in the proceedings over issues ranging from law and order to land-related allegations against the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led Rajasthan government.
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