Jharkhand Assembly Speaker suspended 18 BJP MLAs (out of its total 24) for “indecent conduct” on the penultimate day of the monsoon session of the House on Thursday.

The BJP MLAs who had spent the night squatting on the lobby of the Assembly after being removed from the hall late on Wednesday night by the marshals as they refused to leave even after its adjournment demanding chief minister Hemant Soren to answer on promised jobs to youths, unemployment allowances and regularisation of contractual workers were in no mood to relent on Thursday.

As the House began proceedings, BJP MLAs continued to stage protests and some lawmakers even tore slips and threw them towards the Speaker’s chair while a few MLAs climbed on the reporters’ table.

JMM MLA Sudivya Kumar Sonu said that the conduct of the Opposition is against the dignity of the Assembly and alleged that the Opposition is trying to hijack the Assembly and hold it hostage.

At this Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato issued the suspension order stating, “In the light of the powers granted by the Constitution of India and rules 299, 300 and 310 of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly work procedure and business rules, 18 members of the Assembly are suspended from the proceedings of the Assembly till 2pm on August 2.”

The Speaker also said that for a detailed investigation of the conduct of the suspended MLAs, this matter is handed over to the constituted “Ethics Committee” of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. The chairperson of the committee will conduct a detailed and serious investigation and submit its report within a week.

Meanwhile, Leader of the opposition and BJP MLA, Amar Kumar Bauri alleged that the decision has been taken under pressure from the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD coalition government.

“They were suspended without being heard. It has been seen in this very House that shoes have been thrown at the Speaker. Even after that, there was no suspension. We did not break the chair. We did not even break the mike. There is a right to protest in the Constitution. We want to hear about the government that was formed in 2019 and the promises that were made,” said Bauri.

Bauri also alleged that Assam chief minister (who is BJP’s co-incharge for Jharkhand Assembly polls) Himanta Biswa Sarma was not allowed to visit Gopinathpur in Pakur district while their party MLAs were thrown out of the Assembly hall on Wednesday night.

“All these incidents happened under pressure from the government. It is a black chapter after the Emergency,” alleged Bauri.

Sarma who arrived in Jharkhand on a two-day visit on Thursday alleged that he was prevented from visiting Gopinathpur village in Pakur by the administration which had witnessed violence between two groups on June 18 (Bakri-id) over prohibited animal sacrifice and there is allegation that a group from Murshidabad district had entered the village and indulged in stone pelting and vandalism.

Sarma said in Pakur that he was not given permission by the administration to visit Gopinathpur as ghuspetiyes might attack him. If a chief minister is not allowed for fear of ghuspetiyes just imagine the law and order in the state.”