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BJP demands action against Tuesday's 'villains'

A senior Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Lok Sabha, Rita Verma has demanded that Speaker G M C Balayogi should ''punish'' Professor Ajit Kumar Mehta, Surendra Yadav (Jahanabad) and M A A Fatmi for ''manhandling'' her and Abha Mahato in the well of the House on Tuesday.

She said when the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha members rushed towards Home Minister L K Advani by ''jumping'' over the secretary general's chair to ''snatch'' the Vananchal Bill papers from his hands, she and Mahato went into the well and stood in front of Advani to protect him.

''This we did when we saw that the marshal was not coming to prevent the Opposition members from reaching the home minister. We also thought that seeing lady members they would stop advancing,'' she told newspersons.

Verma said she had complained to the speaker about the misbehaviour of these members. ''It is most unfortunate that Prof Mehta said in front of the speaker that if lady members stand in front, they are bound to get pushed,'' she said.

Verma quoted Prof Mehta as having said, "Anticipating the lady members would attack us, we swung into action."

She charged panel chairman Raghuvans Prasad Yadav for ''instigating'' his party members to manhandle the lady members.

BJP spokesman K L Sharma said there had been ''calculated plan'' right from the beginning of the session to disrupt the proceedings. Some members want the House to be run by ''muscle power'' that they use during elections, he alleged.

The big question is whether the House should function in a democratic way with majority decision or with muscle power, Sharma said.

Raghuvans Prasad Singh should maintain some ''grace,'' he added.

UNI

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