Uproar in House as Speaker stops Cong MLA’s speech

Jaipur: High drama unfolded in the Assembly Thursday during the debate on demands for grants for rural development and Panchayati Raj dept as the withdrawal of permission granted to Congress MLA Shravan Kumar to speak led to adjournment of House for 30 minutes. Later, Congress MLAs walked out in the House.The controversy began when Kumar was allowed by the Chair to participate in the debate on grant demands. He just started presenting his views when Speaker Vasudev Devnani entered the House and intervened. Stopping the MLA mid-speech, Devnani said, "I already told you not today. You were speaking for six days. I will allow you to speak later, but not today. I will not tolerate disobedience of my orders." He also warned the presiding officer not to allow anyone to speak without his permission.
The Speaker's remarks drew protests from the Opposition. Despite the disruption, proceedings briefly resumed, and Dag MLA Kaluram continued with the debate. However, the issue flared again when Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully raised a point of order, terming the withdrawal of Kumar's permission an insult to the member and an attack on legislative decorum. The govt's chief whip Jogeshwar Garg objected to Jully's intervention, leading to a heated exchange between the treasury and Opposition benches. Jully asserted that Opposition members were not present in the House "out of anyone's kindness" and would not tolerate disrespect towards an elected representative. "If you want to run the House with such bullying, then do so — this is not the way," he said, amid loud protests. As tempers escalated and sloganeering intensified, the House was adjourned for 30 minutes. When proceedings resumed, the debate on the demands for grants continued, but Congress MLAs staged a walkout in protest, boycotting the remaining proceedings. Later, speaking to mediapersons, Jully alleged that the dignity and traditions of the Assembly were being undermined. "The Assembly has a history of maintaining decorum. This time, there seems to be a continuous attempt to weaken the House. Time is allotted for discussions on grant demands. Our MLA was speaking within his allotted time when the Speaker intervened," he said.