Uproar over oilfield auction rocks House on Day I

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, July 18: Uproar over the proposal to privatize State oilfields spilled over into the Assembly today where Opposition and government members engaged in a heated verbal duel, after the Speaker disallowed an adjournment motion sought by the Congress to discuss the issue.

Immediately after Question Hour on the first day of the budget session today, the Opposition Congress sought an adjournment motion to discuss the government’s move to lease out 12 State oilfields to private parties through auction. The plea was disallowed by Speaker Ranjit Kumar Das who cited that he has already allowed a notice brought in by Golaghat legislator Ajanta Neog under Article 301 and Rule 54 to discuss the issue.

Unrelenting Opposition legislators, some of them holding placards, then trooped into the well and shouted slogans against the government. Ruling BJP legislators countered the attack and the ruckus continued for half an hour till the Speaker was forced to adjourn the House for five minutes.

When the House reassembled, Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia renewed the demand for a discussion, leading to another battle of words and sloganeering between the Opposition and ruling benches.

The Opposition MLAs shouted slogans like ‘We want justice’, ‘Protect rights of indigenous communities’ etc while the treasury bench reverberated with ‘Sarbanda Sonowal zindabad’ slogan.

At around 11 am, MLAs of the Opposition Congress and AIUDF staged a walk-out in protest.