Jharkhand Assembly adjourned twice over BJP's LoP demand

The Jharkhand Assembly was on Wednesday adjourned twice following ruckus by BJP MLAs over their demand for the announcement of the Leader of the Opposition. Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato adjourned the House till noon after BJP members went down to the Well and raised slogans in support of their demand.

Noisy scenes continued after the sitting resumed, prompting him to adjourn the House again till 2 pm. Raising a point of order on the issue, BJP MLA Anant Kumar Ojha told the Chair that the party has elected Babulal Marandi as its legislative party leader. With the BJP being the largest opposition party, the announcement in this regard should be made at the earliest, he demanded.

"The House is incomplete without a Leader of the Opposition. So we urge you to make the announcement," Ojha said.

The speaker said Ojha's point has been acknowledged and announced the commencement of the Question Hour. However, the BJP members rushed to the Well, raising slogans in support of their demand, following which the speaker adjourned the House till noon. The BJP has been demanding the announcement of the Leader of the Opposition since the beginning of the Budget session on February 28.

After the House reconvened, noisy scenes continued. The speaker said the Chair always went by the rules and the matter was under process. He urged the protesting members to go back to their seats and let the House function. However, after his repeated requests were ignored by the BJP members, the speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm.