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20/07/2010
Gates of Bihar assembly shut after lawmakers clash
Patna, July 20 (IANS) Gates of the Bihar assembly complex were shut and security tightened Tuesday evening after clashes between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and opposition members in the assembly over alleged financial irregularities in the state.
Entry to the assembly premises was prohibited, mediapersons were made to leave and even former chief minister Lalu Prasad was not allowed to enter.
All the gates of the assembly premises were shut, police officials said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and former chief minister chief Lalu Prasad, an MP, was stopped at the main gate of the assembly by security guards, who told him they were ordered not to allow anyone in.
"I was stopped at the gate. The security men denied me entry in the state assembly despite my being an MP... I wanted to meet my party legislators who were attacked and injured by ruling NDA legislators," an angry Lalu Prasad told newspersons.
Lok Janshakti Party legislator Maheshswar Singh was roughed up by security men when he tried to enter the assembly and he sat on protest against it.
Mediapersons were angry at being forced to vacate the assembly.
More than half a dozen legislators were injured in clashes. Opposition members belonging to RJD, LJP and left parties demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is among the 47 people named in a complaint alleging irregularities of Rs.11,412 crore. The allegation has been denied by NDA members.
Angry members from both sides then advanced to the reporters' table, uprooted it and also started throwing chairs at each other, leading to injuries to four legislators.
Nitish Kumar, who was present in the house, appealed for calm but his plea was ignored, prompting Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhry to adjourn the house for the day.
The opposition then staged a sit-in within the assembly premises.
The Patna High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged financial irregularities, a decision the state government has appealed against.
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