JD (U), BJP elders exchange blows in house

PATNA: The house of elders suffered a body blow on Thursday when some BJP and JD (U) members traded blows following exchange of unparliamentary words over the government reducing the scholarship amount to OBC and EBC students. The free-for-all continued for about ten minutes before the senior members had to physically separate the ?fighters' in the presence of former chief ministers Nitish Kumar and Rabri Devi.
Legislative council Chairman Awadhesh N Singh adjourned the house till the lunch break. The ugly scene was created when water resources minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary was giving government's reply on behalf of the backward and EBC welfare minister Bima Bharati over the scholarship amount to the OBC and EBC students for technical education after passing out matriculation exams.
Leader of opposition in the council, Sushil Kumar Modi, intervened and sought a specific reply from the government as to why it had reduced the annual scholarship amount from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15,000 to the OBC and EBC students. It was then that JD (U) member Sanjay K Singh made ?objectionable' remarks against Modi for referring to the minister by name and said the BJP leader was "suffering from some disease" and always kept blubbering and wasting time on a single question.
An agitated Modi rushed to the well of the house demanding Singh's comments be expunged from the proceedings. His party members followed him. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Chairman moved to another question but the BJP members refused to budge. The house was adjourned and a scuffle broke out as soon as the Chairman left. BJP members Mangal Pandey, Lal Babu Prasad, Satyendra N Singh Kushwaha and others rushed towards Sanjay Singh. JD (U) members Satish Kumar, Ranbir Nandan and others came in Singh's support.
Later, Modi accused former CM Nitish Kumar of instigating Singh for the scuffle. Nitish, by whose side Sanjay sits in the house, expressed his anger over the allegation. In the post-lunch session, he said, "During my 30 years of political career, I have never faced such an allegation." He said the Chairman should himself see the visuals of the house proceedings and decide. The Chairman has convened an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the issue.
Deputy chief whip of JD (U) Neeraj Kumar sought the suspension of BJP members Mangal Pandey, Satyendra Kushwaha, Lal Babu Prasad and Suraj Nandan Mehta.