For the first time in the history of Bihar Assembly, the Rapid Action Force was summoned inside the "House" to evict Opposition MLAs who were protesting against the passage of the controversial Bihar Special Armed Police Bill.
In the pandemonium with members coming to blows and others being physically hustled out of the house, the Assembly passed the controversial legislation by majority voice vote. RAF personnel cordoned off the chair of the Speaker while the Bill was being passed.
In a dubious precedent, for the first time, the services of the district magistrate and the senior SP of Patna were requisitioned to evict the opposition MLAs. At their direction, an additional SP entered the Speaker’s chamber to restore order, a task that is generally performed by the Marshals.
Opposition MLAs were dragged out of the Assembly building by the RAF personnel -- both men and women -- and literally dumped on the ground opposite the portico of the Assembly building.
Earlier, while the opposition members were agitating, the House had to be adjourned no less than six times.
Three MLAs were injured in the police action and Satish Kumar, RJD MLA from Makhdumpur in Jahanabad district, had to be ferried to hospital in an ambulance. Sudhakar Singh, RJD MLA from Kaimur, was seen being thrashed by the police with one man in khaki battering him with his boots.
Earlier, former minister and senior RJD MLA Chandrashekhar Singh and building construction minister Ashok Kumar Chaudhury came to blows. The opposition members had snatched a copy of the Bill from Prem Kumar, who was in the chair. Later, when Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha occupied the chair, copies of the Bill were hurled at him.
Anita Devi, a former minister and RJD MLA, was also not spared and dragged out of the complex by women RAF personnel. The leader of opposition Tejaswhi Prasad Yadav had a heated exchange with the additional SP who was deputed for restoring order in the House.
The Speaker later announced that Opposition MLAs who participated in the day-long disturbances inside the House would face penal action.
Earlier, the RJD sponsored protest march from Gandhi Maidan to Assembly also turned violent as it reached the Dak Bungalow square. The police resorted to lathi charge and used water cannons to disperse the protestors. As stone throwing continued, security forces provided helmets to Tejaswi Prasad Yadav and his brother Tej Pratap who were leading the march.
