Jharkhand assembly stalled over demand for CBI probe

Ranchi, March 10 (IANS) Proceedings in the Jharkhand assembly were disrupted Wednesday after the government did not accede to the demand by opposition parties for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into scams that have taken place in the state in the last few years.

When the assembly met at 11 a.m., opposition members moved a stop work motion which was rejected by Speaker C.P. Singh. But opposition members came to the well of the house, pressing their demand.

Pradeep Yadav of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantantrik (JVM-P) first raised the issue. "The Jharkhand High Court has termed the state as a land of scams. The CBI should be handed over the investigations of all scams that took place in the state," he said.

The Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist legislators then joined him and marched into the well of the house. They raised slogans like "Hand over scams probe to the CBI".

The question hour could not take place due to bedlam in the house.

The house was adjourned during zero hour as the opposition continued with its demand.

Yadav told reporters: "It was the same Bharatiya Janata Party which made the CBI probe an election issue and now the same BJP has taken a U-turn. The BJP should make its stand clear. What is the problem in handing over the investigations of different scams to the CBI."

Talking to reporters, senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Raghubar Das said: "The opposition has no issue. The issueless opposition is not cooperating in the proceedings of the house."