LUCKNOW: Unprecedented scenes of violence were witnessed in the UP Assembly on its inaugural day, as ruling SPBSP engaged opposition BJP members in a no holds barred battle which left over three dozen. MLAs and half a dozen security personnel battered and bruised.
Former speakers Kesari Nath Tipathi and Harikrishna Shrivastava (both BJP) and half a dozen other BJP MLAs were among the seriously injured men who had to be rushed to hospitals. ‘Two security guards and three SPBSP members were also rushed to hospital. The trouble started minutes after the House resumed deliberations around 12:30 p.m., after the Governor’s address to the joint session earlier in the day.
The moment Speaker Dhani Ram Verma suited proceedings, BJP members shouting “Kalya nahin to Sadan Nahin” walked into the well. The Speaker, sensing trouble, immediately adjourned the House and left.
The moment Verma left the adjourned house; missiles started flying to and fro. While the BJP LP deputy leader accused ruling party of starting hostilities, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Beni Prasad Verma alleged that a BJP member had hurled a shoe first to provoke retaliation.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 24, 1993
