Speaker Devnani stated words by the PCC chief as insulting to the chair ; Deadlock continues

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani on Tuesday got tears while saying that the words used by State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra in the House were “insulting” to the chair. Devnani mentioned he was never biased and even then if inappropriate words were used then it was “painful”.

“I cannot repeat the words of a state president of a party in his speech. Everyone has read them in newspapers. Those words were said inside the House, whether the proceedings of the House were going on or not. But the words spoken in the House were very serious and insulting,” Devnani said. He further said, “I have not been insulted. This chair has been insulted…Such a person is not eligible to remain a member of the House. Now the House has to decide what should be done as per the rules.”

Devnani also announced a change in the House’s disciplinary procedures. He said that any MLA who disrupts proceedings in front of the speaker’s podium will be automatically suspended for five days, regardless of their party affiliation. The speaker clarified that there would be no need to bring a proposal for suspension to the House for approval, as was previously required.

Dotasra allegedly made derogatory remarks in the House against Devnani, amid a deadlock in the state assembly over minister Avinash Gehlot’s recent remark on former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

School Education Minister Madan Dilawar and BJP MLA Gopal Sharma asked the speaker to terminate the membership of Dotasra while other members of the ruling party and other parties condemned the incident. Meanwhile, a deadlock in the Rajasthan Assembly over state minister Avinash Gehlot’s remark on Indira Gandhi continued on Tuesday as six suspended Congress MLAs were not allowed to enter the Assembly. To support the suspended MLAs, other Congress MLAs also refrained from entering the House and staged a sit-in, raising slogans outside the assembly premises. The six Congress MLAs, including PCC chief Dotasra, Ramkesh Meena, Amin Kagzi, Jakir Hussain, Hakam Ali and Sanjay Kumar were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session of the assembly on Friday for “indecent behaviour” in the House.

Meanwhile, the Question Hour in the House continued amid the Congress boycott. Later, the Congress members ended their protests, but they did not participate in the House proceedings.

The debate on the budget continued amid a boycott of the Congress. Later, the House was adjourned till February 27.

While Govind Singh Dotasra said, “The remarks of the minister have still not been removed from the proceedings and the minister has not apologized to date. We still stand by our demand that the remarks be removed and the minister apologize. “The House should function smoothly. Due to the internal conflict between the CM, Vasundhara Raje, Kirodi Meena, and the speaker, they want to overshadow the issues of the people of the state,” said Dotasra outside the assembly.

Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham told reporters, “Continuous efforts are being made to end the deadlock. Opposition leaders who have become directionless and are creating a deadlock over unnecessary issues should help run the House.”

Bedham claimed that Congress leaders want to bring their internal conflict into the House. While Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel also alleged that Dotasra is behind the ongoing deadlock in the Rajasthan Assembly. He condemned the offensive language used by Dotasra about the speaker.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the way the speaker is acting is highly unfortunate. “Why was there a delay in requesting an apology from those who commented about former prime minister Indira Gandhi?”

Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot said, “We want the minister, who made this unnecessary remark, to apologize in the House. We presented our demand, but the speaker suspended six MLAs instead. Later, they said that we should all express regret, which we did. But neither was the minister’s remarks removed nor did he apologize.” He alleged that the intention is to insult Babasaheb Ambedkar, Indira ji in the Parliament and the Rajasthan Assembly. “This is being done to provoke people, stir emotions, and prevent dialogue and discussion, so that the House cannot function. If the House runs, the government’s failure will be exposed,” he added.

Rounds of talks were held in the chamber of Speaker Devnani, but the issue could not be resolved as the speaker and the parliamentary affairs minister were not satisfied with the statement made by suspended Congress member Dotasra.

During the Question Hour on Friday, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot had pointed to the opposition and said, “In the 2023-24 budget, like always, you named the scheme (on working women’s hostels) after your ‘dadi’ (grandmother) Indira Gandhi.” The remark triggered an uproar in the House, leading to three adjournments and the suspension of six Congress MLAs. Demanding an apology from the minister and the revocation of the suspension, Congress MLAs began a sit-in in the assembly.