The bill that proposes indirect elections for mayors and chairmen in urban local bodies — termed as “black bill by the Opposition” — was passed in the UP Assembly on Monday by a voice vote amidst near-violent protests by the Samajwadi Party.
Sensing the mood of the Opposition, parliamentary affairs minister Lalji Varma urged the Speaker to take up the agenda listed for the remaining week and rushed through the business after which the house was adjourned sine die.
The entire Opposition sat on an indefinite dharna in the well of the House to protest against the undemocratic behaviour of the Mayawati government while BJP leader Hukum Singh announced that he was beginning a fast-unto-death.
As soon as the House convened on Monday morning, the Samajwadi Party demanded that all rules should be relaxed and the “draconian bill” should be tabled.
“There is nothing more important than democracy in the country and this bill amounts to murder of democracy,” said Ambica Choudhury of the Samajwadi Party.
Mohd. Azam khan said that the bill was reminiscent of 1975 when democracy was put on hold.
Mr Varma said that the government was well within its rights to amend the local bodies’ election bill.
The SP MLA then barged into the well of the House, shouting slogans against the government which forced adjournment of the House.
When the House reassembled, SP MLAs returned to the well of the House and demanded that the bill should be withdrawn. As the Congress and BJP pressed for a debate, SP MLAs climbed on to the reporters’ desks and threw paper balls at the Speaker’s chair. Some legislators even threw caps of security personnel on the podium.
In this pandemonium, the contentious bill was passed by a voice vote after which the entire business, scheduled till March 1, was rushed through within half an hour and the House was adjourned sine die.
Talking to reporters, Congress legislature party leader Pramod Tiwari said that his party wanted a debate on the issue but circumstances did not permit the same. He said his party had already requested the governor not to give his assent to the “black bill”.