Unruly scenes were witnessed in Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha as the beginning of the Budget session was marred by unprecedented din in which Samajwadi Party members threw paper balls and floated balloons amid slogans of `Governor Go Back’ as Governor Ram Naik addressed the joint session of the state legislatur on Thursday.
What goes into the credit of Governor was that he read the whole 38-page speech in an hour and 25 minutes as Watch and Ward staff of the state assembly grappled to protect Governor from the barrage of paper balls thrown at him.
Twice Governor tried to chastise Samajwadi Party members saying they represent civilsed society but his words fell on deaf ears as Samajwadi Party members increased the pitch of their protest. Visibly upset Speaker Hridaya Narain Dixit thanked the opposition after Governor’s address saying “a few members welcomed the Governor with missile which is unfortunate.”
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that unruly behaviour of SP members was nothing but an anarchy and such act of the opposition members is deplorable. Hitting out at the SP he said that the people who were wearing red caps in the House would be taught a lesson by the people in future.
Samajwadi Party leaders probably could understand something has gone wrong as Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Ram Govind Chaudhry feigned ignorance about paper balls being thrown at Governor. “I do not know (about paper balls),” he told this reporter after Governor’s address.
Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav did not say anything but said Vidhan Sabha had witnessed such scenes earlier too. There is nothing new.
What was new was the way Governor read out the whole speech. It is probably first time in last two decades any Governor had completed the speech. Last time Ram Naik read a few portions but skipped pages as it was a long speech. Earlier precedence was Governor used to read first and last word amid the ruckus. But this time Governor probably came well prepared and read out word to word.
Opposition members were not prepared. SP members wearing red Gandhi caps, BSP Blue and Congress white raised slogans against the Yogi Adityanath government and waived banners and posters. The banners mostly read about the worse law and order situation, atrocities on media person, problems of the potato and other farmers and harassment of the minorities besides government failure on the communal violence like Kasganj.
Some SP members were wearing garlands of potato to show their concern about the woes of the potato farmers.
The address started around five minutes late at 1100 hrs after the Governor was given a ceremonial welcome with national salute and the Speaker, the Chairman of the council and the Chief Minister accompanied Mr Naik in a procession to the assembly.
Before the start of the Governor’s address SP members held a protest at the Choudhury Charan Singh statue inside the Vidhan Bhawan.