News Analysis India

Tag: Bihar Special Armed Police Bill

  • Tejashwi Yadav writes to Speaker, seeks action against officers in March 23 House chaos case

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav shot a letter to the Speaker of Bihar Assembly seeking actions against officers, who allegedly had manhandled some opposition MLAs on March 23 in the House.

    On March 23, the opposition had created a ruckus while protesting against the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill-2021 and disrupted the House proceeding to such an extent that police forces were summoned to bring them under control.

    Some legislators were forcibly thrown out by the cops and marshals when they picketed the chamber of the Speaker in a bid to prevent him to reach the House to conduct the session in which the bill was to be tabled.

    Sharing his letters to the Speaker on his Twitter handle, Tejashwi Yadav said the incident that happened in the House on March 23 was not just an attack on the opposition but also an attack on the democratic system.

    Yadav on Monday wrote a letter to Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha with “evidences” and sought the dismissal of the police and other officers involved in the incident.

    Yadav said the way the opposition members were treated by the Nitish Kumar government in a bid to impose Bihar Special Armed Police Bill-202′ on the people cannot be considered a normal democratic incident.  It all happened when the opposition members were protesting peacefully by exercising their democratic rights. He alleged that the actions taken by the police at the behest of the government exhibited how the government will treat the people in the future.

    He alleged that several MLAs of opposition were seriously injured and hospitalised.

    Comparing the incident with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Tejashwi Yadav said that the government has no right to continue as it has failed to protect the constitutional rights of the elected representatives.

    “We demand the dismissal of the officials, who tried to create a Jallianwala Bagh in the Bihar Assembly on March 23,” he said in the letter, adding that the evidences contained were shared with the Speaker.

    Reacting to Tejashwi Yadav’s letter, BJP spokesperson Dr. Nikhil Anand said: “Letter is nothing but political eyewash. He is trying to shift the attention from the incident that maligned the image of the House in its 100 years of history.”

    He also said that officials found guilty of creating chaos in the Assembly premises must be punished but the legislators who went on to abuse the chair should also not be spared at any cost.

  • After Bihar assembly, controversial police bill passed in Council; Opposition seeks apology from CM

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Amidst loud uproar again, the controversial Bihar Special Armed Police Bill-2021 was finally passed by the state legislative council on Wednesday, a day after the violent protest and ruckus rocked the assembly on Tuesday.

    The Opposition members in the council again created ruckus when CM Nitish Kumar stood to speak in support of the bill. Irked at this, chief minister Nitish Kumar asked them to follow the decorum insstead of wasting time of political career. However, RJD MLC Subodh Rai continued shouting at the ruling against the bill.

    When the uproar continued in the council, some ruling members came into the well and tried to counter the agitating Opposition members.

    On the last day of budget session, the entire Opposition boycotted proceedings and ran a parallel session in the assembly premises registering their protest against Tuesday’s alleged incident of manhandling. RJD MLA Bhudeo Chaudhary was made a shadow speaker while other members of Oposition enacted the role of other members.

    Meanwhile, leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav demanded an apology from chief minister Nitish Kumar for Tuesday’s incident. Speaking to the media, Tejashwi Yadav warned: “If action is not taken on the officers and Nitish Kumar did not apologize for yesterday’s incident and treatment meted out to the MLAs of Opposition, then we are considering that we will not go to the Assembly for the next five years”. He, further, lambasted Nitish Kumar for Tuesday’s shocking incident in the House asking him to debate on the bill, whether it is right, or else sit wearing bangles.

    Meanwhile, the Mahagatvandhan has called a Bihar bandh on March 26 to protest against Tuesday’s incident and alleged act of manhandling of legislators of opposition by the cops.  Later, CM Nitish Kumar speaking in the Assembly said that he doesn’t know who advises Tejashwi Yadav to act in such a way.

    Kumar also said that till date such a scene has never been seen in the Vidhan Sabha by him referring to Tuesday’s incidents. He also said that had the Opposition participated in the discussion, all confusionamong them would have been cleared and answered.

    Defending the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, the chief minister said that same kind of law is already in force in other states. “This is not a law that will trouble people, it is protecting people. But Opposition fanned a misconception that resulted into the condemnable incident on Tuesday”, Kumar said.

    FIR AGAINST TEJASHWIThe Patna police has lodged FIRs against leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav, his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav and more than hundred other in connection with taking out a protest march on Tuesday in Patna. On Tuesday, the RJD workers had allegedly clashed with the police during the protest march on the street of Patna in which the police had resorted to baton charges. The police used water cannon to disperse the protesting supporters of RJD and other allies of Mahagatvandhan. Sources said that FIRs have been lodged in the Kotwali police station under relevant sections of IPC against Tejashwi Yadav and others. 

  • Bihar police bill passed by assembly amid unprecedented chaos

    Express News Service
    PATNA:  Amid a walkout by the Opposition after unprecedented ruckus inside the Assembly, the Bihar House passed the Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, which allegedly gives special powers to the police to search and arrest anyone without obtaining a court warrant.

    RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav beingdetained in Patna on Tuesday | ptiCM Nitish Kumar denied that the Bill had overarching powers. He said the Bill was meant to rename the Bihar Military Police and that no special powers have been given to the police. “The Opposition has not gone through the Bill,” he said, adding it was brought to convert the Bihar Military Police into Special Armed Police without any draconian powers.

    The Opposition, however, termed the Bill as a black law as it repeatedly disrupted the House proceedings, forcing adjournments five times. The protest took an ugly turn when some MLAs tried to snatch the copy of the Bill from the Speaker and turned the reporters table upside down in the House.

    After the House was adjourned for the fifth time, the Opposition lawmakers came out of the House and laid a siege to the Speaker’s chamber. After much uproar, an additional police force was summoned inside the Assembly to forcibly remove the legislators from outside the chamber. Some MLAs alleged they were manhandled.

    Earlier in the day, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took out a protest march against the Bill. The Patna police allegedly resorted to lathi-charge when the protesters broke the police barricades and allegedly threw stones at the policemen. A ruling party MLA alleged the Speaker was held captive by the opposition MLAs in their attempt to prevent the bill from being passed in the House.