Jharkhand assembly adjourned after obituary references

Ranchi: The first day of the monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly was adjourned on Friday after obituary references were made to eminent personalities who died recently.

During the six-day session, the first supplementary budget for 2024-25 will be tabled and several bills will be presented, Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto said after the House assembled at 11 am.

Stating that the previous sessions had been productive and he expected the same from members, the Speaker said, "The people have given the opportunity to both the ruling dispensation and the opposition and it is true that in democracy agreement and disagreement go side by side. This is the ornament of democracy." Though the session is scheduled for a brief period, it is very important, he said.

"The Fifth Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha that began on January 6, 2020, is heading to a close with members in the previous sessions showing good conduct and work reaching higher standards. Their presentation following parliamentary tradition has been praiseworthy. We tried to fulfil the aspirations of the state's 3.5 crore population." The assembly elections in the state are due later this year.

After paying obituaries to eminent persons and common citizens who died after the last session, the House was adjourned. The members observed a two-minute silence in memory of the departed souls.

The House remembered the contributions of Jharkhand's first energy minister Lalchand Mahto, former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Modi, economist Ramesh Sharan, international athlete Budhwa Oraon and others.

The House also paid rich tributes to those who lost their lives in the stampede in UP's Hathras and train accident in West Bengal, besides the police and army personnel killed in various incidents.

After obituary references were made, the House was adjourned. It will assemble again on July 29.

Meanwhile, tribal organisations formed a human chain along Birsa Rajpath to draw the attention of Chief Minister Hemant Soren to incidents of tribal land grabbing and action against the land mafia.

The JMM-led ruling alliance partners in Jharkhand held a meeting on Thursday to chalk out strategies during the monsoon session of the assembly and expressed hope that the opposition will cooperate to ensure the smooth functioning of the House.

The opposition, on the other hand, planned to focus on several issues, especially corruption, law and order, alleged Bangladeshi infiltration and "non-fulfilment" of promises by the government.

BJP state president Babulal Marandi said party MLAs will raise demographic changes in Santhal Pargana in the assembly.

"The tribal population has declined to 28 per cent in 2011 from earlier 44.67 per cent and the Muslim population rose from 9.44 per cent to 22.73 per cent in Santhal Parganas," he claimed before the start of the session.

Speaker Mahto had also convened an all-party meeting on Thursday to ensure the smooth functioning of the House during the six-day long monsoon session, which will end on August 2.

The Speaker's Tribunal on Thursday disqualified two legislators - JMM's Lobin Hembrom and Congress's Jai Prakash Bhai Patel - under the anti-defection law with effect from Friday.