Shimla, March 19 The Himachal Pradesh assembly witnessed a heated exchange of words between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP MLAs during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's Address.
Participating in the discussion, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri raised the issue of an FIR filed against him during the previous BJP government's tenure, for protesting against the governor.
Agnihotri said the protest took place inside the Vidhan Sabha Complex, where the MLAs enjoy immunity, and registration of an FIR for protests in the House premises has never occurred in the history of any other state.
Countering this, Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur said the FIR was lodged against Agnihotri and other Congress leaders because they had obstructed the governor's path and attempted to vandalise his vehicle.
Terming the incident unfortunate, Thakur said the case was filed with the permission of the Legislative Assembly.
The previous government acted strictly in accordance with the law, and Mukesh Agnihotri is not above the law, he said.
Earlier, Agnihotri argued that for protests within the assembly complex, MLAs can only be suspended and booked, and accused the BJP government of setting a wrong precedent in dealing with the opposition.
In the legislative assemblies of several states, chairs were hurled and microphones were thrown, yet no FIRs were registered ever, he said.
BJP MLA Satpal Singh Satti contested Agnihotri's arguments, following which the two leaders engaged in a sharp exchange of words.
Agnihotri also called upon the leader of the opposition to clarify his stance on the issues of inadequate GST compensation and the discontinuation of the Revenue Deficit Grant.
Participating in the discussion, BJP MLA Randhir Sharma said the Governor's Address makes no mention of the Congress's guarantees or the promised "systemic change". He said the very guarantees upon which the Congress rode to power will ultimately be the cause of its downfall.
Vehemently criticising the government on the law and order situation in the state, Sharma said one can easily guess the state of law and order under an administration that is incapable of even appointing a permanent chief secretary and a director general of police.
He further accused Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of infringing upon freedom of the media and of providing patronage to criminals.