Chandigarh, March 5
Pandemonium prevailed and unruly scenes were witnessed on the second day of the Budget session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today after the Speaker, Mr Satbir Singh Kadian, sprang a surprise on the Opposition by seeking the leave of the House to move a resolution for his removal immediately after the House assembled at 9-30 a.m.

The order was restored only after the Opposition boycotted the rest of the proceedings for the day following the suspension of seven MLAs for the rest of the week and another Congress MLA, Mr Narinder Singh, was named by the Speaker. Those who have been suspended are Mr Jai Prakash Barwala, Dr Raghbir Singh Kadian, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Deputy Leader of the CLP; Ms Anita Yadav and Mr Dharamvir, all Congress; Mr Karan Singh Dalal, RPI; and Mr Jagjit Singh Sangwan, NCP.

Mr Kadian rejected the notice after only 13 members, 10 short of the mandatory requirement of 23 members, stood up in its support. Among the Opposition big guns absent from the House when the Speaker sought the leave of the House included the Leader of Opposition, Mr Bhajan Lal; the Haryana Congress President, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda; and the HVP President, Mr Bansi Lal.

The Opposition protested vehemently and the Congress, the RPI and the NCP members walked into the well and raised slogans against the Speaker. They “elected” Mr Barwala as the “Speaker” and conducted the mock proceedings of the House for some time. After over one hour of pandemonium, Mr Kadian adjourned the House for 30 minutes.

However, the Opposition members continued with their protest when the House reassembled. A couple of members, including Ms Yadav, stood up on a bench and raised slogans. As the Speaker named Mr Barwala.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, moved a motion for Mr Barwala’s suspension from the House for the remainder period of the week. The motion was adopted through voice vote. Mr Barwala was physically removed from the House by the martial.

One after one, six more members were named and suspended. When the Congress members continued with their protest, the Speaker named Mr Narinder Singh. The other Congress members were now subdued in their protest. As they argued with the Speaker, Mr Kadian seemed to have lost control and said many things, which he later himself expunged as being “unparliamentary”.

The Congress members then boycotted the proceedings of the day. Mr Bansi Lal and his colleague, Mr Ram Kishan, also boycotted the proceedings. But before he walked out of the House, Mr Bansi Lal said as a matter of principle, he was against the members walking into the well. They should register their protest by staging a walkout. He said he was protesting against the manner in which the leave of the House was sought to move the motion for the removal of the Speaker.

Mr Kadian justified his action by describing it as based on “urgency, morality and borne out of my duty”. He said since certain members had expressed lack of confidence in him, he wanted that the issue of confidence should be decided before the House took up any other business. Hence, he had suspended question hour. He said there was no need to mention the motion for grant of leave to move the motion for the removal of the Speaker in the list of business.

Prof Sampat Singh said the motion against the Speaker fell because of the inefficiency of the Opposition, which failed at floor management. The Opposition should have been present in the House in sufficient numbers when it had given the notice for moving a motion against the Speaker. “The Congress has been once again out-manoeuvred.”

However, the stand taken by Mr Kadian and Prof Sampat Singh is not supported by Mr M.N. Kaul and Mr S.L. Shakdher, whose book, “Practice and Procedure of Parliament”, which is the most frequently referred book on the procedural issues of the legislature.

One page 82 of Volume I, they write, “On receipt of a notice (for a motion for the removal of the Speaker) a motion for leave to move the resolution is entered in the List of Business in the name of the members concerned on a day fixed by the Speaker provided that the day so fixed has to be any day after 14 days from the date of the receipt of notice of the resolution” (emphasis supplied).

The two experts further say that even the resolution for the removal of the Speaker “is included, on the appointed day, in the List of Business to be taken up after the questions and before any other business for the day is entered upon” (emphasis supplied).

Moreover, it is not within the powers of the Speaker to suspend question hour. Only the House can do so after it adopts a motion to this effect.

In a bid to “out-manoeuvre” the Opposition, the Speaker and the ruling party today turned the established parliamentary procedures and practices topsy-turvy to suit their own convenience.

Later, Mr Sangwan alleged that immediately after the House was adjourned, Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, INLD MLA from Rori, used abusive language against him. Mr Chautala denied the allegation.

Ms Yadav and Mr Ranbir Mandola, INLD MLA from Badhada, also exchanged hot words after the Haryana Mahila Congress president was named by the Speaker and she was leaving the House. Mr Dalal and Capt Yadav intervened and saved the situation from worsening.