GUWAHATI, March 27 � The Assam Legislative Assembly today witnessed noisy scenes followed by expulsion of the members of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) members and walk out by the members of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a comment made by the Speaker Pranab Gogoi on the AIUDF members� behaviour in the House.
The trouble started when the Revenue Minister Prithibi Majhi was replying to a question by Rafiqul Islam (AIUDF) on the steps taken by the Government for the rehabilitation of the erosion affected families of Barpeta district. The Minister said that each of the affected families are given Rs 5,000 as grant along with two bundles of tin sheets, while, efforts are on for finding suitable plots of land for their rehabilitation.
But the AIUDF members strongly opposed the Government�s stand and alleged that the Government was adopting a discriminatory attitude. The members of the AIUDF stood up from their chairs and alleged that the flood and erosion affected families of Dhemaji district are given Rs 25,000 each, while, those of Barpeta are given a grant of Rs 5,000 each.
The Speaker asked the members to take their seats and when they continued their protests, he asked them not to make noise like �crows�. This angered the members of the AIUDF, who rushed to the well of the House protesting the Speaker�s statement. Several members of the Congress also rushed to the well of the House and a heated altercation took place between the members of both the parties.
Following repeated requests by the Speaker to the members to return to their seats, the Congress legislators returned but the AIUDF members continued their protest and later they were expelled from the House for the day. The members of the AGP and BJP also staged a walk out in protest against the Speaker�s decision and they boycotted the proceedings of the House for the day.
Earlier also the House witnessed a walk out by the members of the AIUDF over a comment by Irrigation Minister Dr Ardhendu Kumar Dey. AIUDF member Mazibur Rahman, who put a question on the Irrigation Department, was absent from the House when the question was to be raised. Dr Dey suspected that the member might have been staying away from the House intentionally as he could have authorized someone else to raise the question on his behalf if he was held up. The AIUDF members protested the Minister�s statement and demanded that the word �intentional� should be withdrawn as the member could not attend the House because he was not keeping well. When the Speaker refused to expunge the word �intentional� from the proceedings of the House, the AIUDF members staged a walk out.
Opp boycott: The Opposition AIUDF, AGP and BJP decided this evening not to cooperate with the Speaker of the State Assembly and to abstain from the House until the �unparliamentary words of the Speaker which resembled the AIUDF MLAs with crows are withdrawn. This decision was adopted at a meeting of the legislature parties of the AIUDF, AGP and the BJP held at the AIUDF Legislature Party office, said sources in the AIUDF and AGP Legislature Parties.
