By IANS,
New Delhi : The use of the word “satyanas (ruined)” prompted an adjournment of the Rajya Sabha Thursday morning when a question on what the government was doing for the development of the four “BIMARU” states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh escalated into a full fledged row over the Bundelkhand region.
The opposition seemed to get riled when Satyavrata Chaturvedi of the Congress got up to say that the Bundelkhand region, which straddles Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, was being ignored by both states.
“Aap logon ne Bundelkhand ka satyanas kar diya hai (You have ruined Bundelkhand),” he said, referring to the non-Congress governments of the two states.
At this, an MP of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that rules Uttar Pradesh took umbrage and questioned the basis of Chaturvedi’s statement.
Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party, which has previously ruled Uttar Pradesh, was also on his feet, gesticulating and complaining that the Congress MP had used an unparliamentary word.
Soon, there was pandemonium with opposition MPs, including those of the Bharatiya Janata Party that rules Madhya Pradesh, gathering near Chairman Hamid Ansari’s podium. With his repeated appeals to maintain order falling on deaf ears, Ansari adjourned the house for 10 minutes.
The issue briefly figured when the house reassembled at 12 noon, with Amar Singh demanding that the word be expunged but Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India-Marxist saw little merit in this.
“Sir, the word has already gone on television so little purpose will be served by expunging it,” he said, addressing Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan.
“In future, the telecast of the house proceedings should be on a deferred basis,” he added.
The union cabinet last week approved a Rs.7,266 crore package for drought relief and agricultural development of the Bundelkhand region that has suffered a sustained drought for the past four years.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July to press for the implementation of a central government scheme for development of Bundelkhand. He had also demanded a separate Bundelkhand Development Authority under the central government to route all funds for the region’s speedy development, a proposal Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati opposed.
Thus, Chaturvedi had perhaps primed the BSP by making a glowing reference to Rahul Gandhi while posing a supplementary on the question on the BIMARU states.