The Bihar assembly on Friday witnessed uproarious scenes over the alleged stripping of a 22-year-old girl in public, with Opposition members storming into the well of the House and forcing Speaker U N Choudhary to adjourn the proceedings at least four times.
The issue was raised by Members of the Legislative Assembly belonging to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party, Congress and Left parties as soon as the House assembled.
They trooped into the well of the House and asked the speaker to accept an adjournment motion moved by them seeking a debate on "growing atrocities on women in Bihar".
On Thursday, the girl, a resident of Jasidih in Jharkhand, was allegedly stripped by a group of people on the busy Exhibition Road in Patna. Shouting slogans like "Mahilaon par atyachar band karo, mahilaon ka utpidan band karo, cheer haran band karo (stop atrocities against women)", the Opposition members halted the proceeding of the House.
Choudhary was heard requesting the MLAs to return to their seats and raise the issue after the Question Hour. But the Opposition refused to relent and some of them lifted the reporters' chairs and put them on the desk as a mark of protest.
Gauging their mood, the speaker asked the government to make a detailed statement on the incident. Ministers Vijendra Prasad Yadav and Ramashray Prasad Singh assured the Opposition that the state government would make a statement in this regard.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the alleged stripping of a girl in Patna, saying, "This exposes the claim of changing Bihar".
"What happened is very bad. Draupadi has been stripped and the chief minister says he will probe the matter. What probe is required? The incident happened in a crowded area," Prasad told reporters outside Parliament.
"What probe is being carried out? There should have been action. He should have acted," Prasad said.
He added that such incidents had taken place in the past as well. "People have taken law into their hands in the state... Is this how Bihar is changing," Prasad said.
