The Monsoon Session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha today started on a stormy note with the Speaker adjourning the House till tomorrow following objections by BJP legislators over the non-rendition of the National Song Vande Matram.
It was within 10 minutes that Speaker Kuldeep Pathania was forced to adjourn the House amidst pandemonium at the start of the session. As the Opposition and treasury benches indulged in counter-sloganeering, he adjourned the House till tomorrow.
Even before the business for the day could be taken up, BJP legislators raised the issue of non-rendition of Vande Matram at the start of the session. They also accused the Congress of playing the truncated version of the National Song.
Trying to pacify the Opposition, the Speaker said the session always started with obituaries to departed former members of the House. “As per the convention, both in Lok Sabha and here in Himachal Assembly, the session begins with National Anthem and concludes with the National Anthem. The opposition members cannot lay down new rules, conventions and precedents,” he said.
Ignoring the assurance by the Speaker that the National Song will be played on the concluding day of the session, the opposition resorted to sloganeering.
This was met with counter-sloganeering by the treasury benches.
The BJP, led by Vipin Parmar, also registered its protest against the rendition of the truncated version of Vande Matram by the Congress at its functions.
With repeated pleas by the Speaker to the opposition to allow obituaries to be taken up having failed, Pathania adjourned the House till tomorrow.
