Lucknow: On Day 1 of UP Assembly, Paper Balls Thrown At Governor. Flying paper balls from legislators parried with pieces of cardboard by house marshalls, poster waving and slogan-shouting: The first day of 16th legislative assembly in Uttar Pradesh witnessed an uproar the house has not seen in nearly two decades. The rowdy scenes played out in presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Leader of the House, and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav – the latter’s party contributed to much of it.
With ally Congress at its side, the opposition Samajwadi Party legislators in red caps shouted slogans and threw posters at Governor Ram Naik, who was addressing the joint session of the two houses. His address drowned out by the slogans, the Governor said, “The entire Uttar Pradesh is watching you”. But as the shouting members continued to throw paper balls, Mr Naik’s securitymen fenced him off.
The BSP members shouted slogans and rushed to the well of the house during the protest over law and order in the state.
The uproar – telecast live by Doordarshan for the first time — was unmatched since October 22, 1997, when legislators had attacked each other and the speaker with microphones.
“When the Governor was addressing the MLAs and MLCs, there was continuous whistling. This is simply an insult to the people of UP. What is more unfortunate is the fact that the pack of those creating disturbance was led by a former UP Chief Minister,” said minister Shrikant Sharma.Mr Yadav said for him, it recalled the unruly disruptions by the BJP and BSP when he was the Chief Minister. Both Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s BSP have decided to target the new government on the state of law and order, which has been one of its biggest challenges.
“The opposition’s method was faulty, but the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh needs serious attention,” said Ajay Singh, a senior Samajwadi Party legislator.
“There have been violent attacks over beef, cow vigilantes roam free, caste clashes and attacks by radical outfits. The opposition can’t miss a political chance to prove to that BJP’s good law and order promise was just a poll plank,” he said.
