Chandigarh, March 6
Opposition legislators of Haryana, barring those of the HVP, today met the Governor, Babu Parmanand, and demanded the dismissal of the Om Prakash Chautala-led government for what they called “the violation of constitutional proprieties”. They told the Governor that the state government had violated the Constitution by denying the right to Congress MLAs to enter the House.

While seven Opposition legislators, including five from the Congress, were suspended for a week by the Speaker yesterday on the ground of unruly behaviour, the remaining Congress MLAs today went to the Assembly with black ribbons on their arms as a mark of protest against the Speaker’s decision.

The Congress legislators, according to the HPCC chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, were first stopped by security personnel at the main entry to the Assembly building and later at the door of the lobby leading to the Assembly for wearing the black ribbons. However, they were allowed to enter the Assembly hall where question hour, first since the Assembly met for its Budget session on Monday, had commenced.

The Congress legislators, including Rao Inderjit Singh, complained to the Speaker about the security personnel’s attempt to stop them. In reply, the Speaker, Mr Satbir Singh Kadian, said that he had not given any such instructions to those in charge of the security of the House.

However, the Congress members also demanded that the suspension of the MLAs should be withdrawn and they be allowed to take part in the proceedings of the House. When the Speaker refused to accept their demand, the Congress legislators staged a walkout in protest. They came out of the Assembly premises and met the suspended legislators who were demonstrating near the main gate of the Assembly.

However, when the Congress members, still wearing the black ribbons, tried to return to the House, the door of the members’ lobby attached to the Assembly hall was found bolted from the inside to prevent their entry.

The MLAs thumped the door and also raised slogans so that they were allowed inside. The door, however, remained firmly closed. After some confabulation, the Congress brigade, including CLP Leader Bhajan Lal, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, and Mr Hooda, decided to meet the Governor to bring to his notice the denial of the right to legislators to take part in the session.

Outside they were joined by the suspended legislators, who included Mr Jagjit Singh Sangwan of the Nationalist Congress Party and Mr Karan Singh Dalal, lone representative of the Republican Party of India. All of them drove to Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor.

“We told the Governor that elected representatives were not allowed to exercise their constitutional right of taking part in the proceedings of the House and sought the dismissal of the government because of its failure to uphold the Constitution. The Governor told us that he would consult legal experts so that the matter could be thoroughly probed”, Mr Ajay Singh Yadav, Deputy Leader of the Congress in the House, told TNS.

Mr Dalal, Mr Sangwan and Mr Jai Parkash Barwal (Congress) reportedly also sought “protection” from the Governor so that they were not subjected to any harm by the henchmen of the ruling party . “ There was one such incident of attack against me in 1994 “, Mr Jai Parkash, a former Union Minister, alleged.

Mr Jai Parkash, who is among the seven suspended MLAs, said that they at first held a demonstration near the Assembly gate today but were dispersed by the police which prompted them to protest near the MLA Hostel. He alleged that there was a scuffle between them and convicts released by the INLD government from prisons on the MLA Hostel premises, and they again came back to a point near the main gate of the Assembly. There, to avoid arrest under Section 144, Cr PC, which was clamped, they stood in groups of twos or threes and carried on with their protest.