Ranchi: On the second day of the monsoon session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, BJP legislators created a ruckus over issues of Bangladeshi infiltration and the police lathi-charge on college hostel students in Pakur.
Due to the opposition’s uproar, the Question Hour proceedings were completely disrupted. Assembly Speaker Rabindranath Mahato tried to calm the opposition members, but due to the continued noise, the proceedings were adjourned at 11:27 am until 12:30 pm.
Even after the session resumed, the opposition’s commotion persisted. Most of the BJP members present in the assembly came to the well and started shouting slogans. Amidst the uproar, Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon presented the first supplementary budget of ₹4833.39 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25.
Earlier, during the chaos, Leader of the Opposition Amar Bauri raised the Pakur incident, demanding action against the responsible police officers. He mentioned that on July 18, an Adivasi family was beaten, and there is a video of the incident. The culprits have not been punished. When tribal hostel students were ready to protest, the administration entered the college hostel and brutally beat the students, many of whom are receiving treatment. He also said that due to Bangladeshi infiltrators, incidents are happening daily in Santhal Pargana, and the court has acknowledged demographic changes. Therefore, it is essential for the government to identify these infiltrators.
Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav questioned what the BJP was doing when they were in power before. Congress’s Shilpi Neha Tirkey pointed out that if Bangladeshi infiltrators are entering, it is a matter of national security, and questioned what the Union Home Ministry is doing. She mentioned that the state government is sensitive to the incident in Santhal Pargana and has ordered an investigation. She criticized the central government and BSF for failing to prevent infiltrations and highlighted the social issues caused by such infiltrations.
JMM MLA Sudivya Kumar Sonu accused the BJP of diverting attention from core issues by raising the matter of Bangladeshi infiltration. He said that the responsibility for border security lies with the BSF and other military forces, and criticized attempts to divide Jharkhand with divisive policies.
Congress MLA Neha Shilpi Tirkey also drew attention to the incidents of forest fires in Mandar constituency during the Question Hour. The in-charge minister stated that while the government has no current plans to establish a fire station in Mandar, they acknowledged 11 fire incidents in the area from January 2023 to June 2024.
In response to a question from JMM’s Bhushan Tirkey, Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon confirmed that the Seventh Pay Commission is implemented for government employees in Jharkhand, but the state does not provide an education allowance for employees’ children, unlike the central government. He mentioned that the state government is studying financial aspects and policies of other states regarding this matter.
Due to the continued uproar by BJP members in the well, the Assembly Speaker again adjourned the session until 12:30 pm. When the session resumed, the commotion over Bangladeshi infiltration and other issues persisted. Despite the chaos, Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon presented the first supplementary budget of ₹4833.39 crore. The budget included significant allocations for the Department of Women and Child Development, the Home Department, the Department of Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare, the Panchayati Raj Department, and the Energy Department.