Haryana speaker calls opposition leaders, suspension revoked : India

Chandigarh, March 9 - Haryana Assembly Speaker Harmohinder Singh Chatha Tuesday evening called up leaders of opposition parties to announce that the suspension of all 35 opposition legislators in the 90-member Haryana assembly has been revoked.

Chatha called up Indian National Lok Dal - president Om Prakash Chautala, who is a former chief minister of the state, and other leaders to convey that their suspension from the house for the remainder period of the budget session, which was announced Monday, has been revoked.

The speaker confirmed that he revoked the suspension of all 35 opposition legislators, including 31 from the INLD.

Earlier Chatha said that the 35 opposition legislators were free to return to the house, but the 'suspended' opposition legislators said they have no official communication from the speaker.

The 35 opposition legislators were suspended Monday following unruly scenes inside the assembly.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda claimed Tuesday there was no confusion on the matter of revoking the suspension of opposition legislators.

'On my request, the honourable speaker has already said on the floor of the house that the MLAs can return to the assembly. When the speaker says, the matter ends. We wish that they - should come,' Hooda told reporters in the press gallery of the assembly here.

Earlier, the INLD claimed it has not received any communication from the speaker or the assembly that the suspensions have been revoked.

'The MLAs were suspended through a resolution moved by the house. No such resolution has been moved today - to revoke the suspensions. We have received no communication from the speaker or his office,' an INLD spokesman told IANS earlier Tuesday.

Barring one legislator who was not present in the house Monday evening, all 35 opposition legislators were suspended by Speaker Chatha after pandemonium prevailed in the house Monday afternoon over the issue of debating price rise.

Chatha had to adjourn the house thrice in just over an hour before finally ordering suspension of the entire opposition present inside the house. Chaos prevailed after Chatha converted an adjournment motion of the opposition to a call-attention motion.

Thirty-one legislators of the INLD, including INLD president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, one Akali Dal legislator and three of the Bharatiya Janata Party - were suspended Monday evening for the remainder of the state assembly's budget session.

The session will end March 16.

The opposition parties Tuesday met Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia and sought his intervention to resolve the 'unprecedented suspension' of the entire opposition.

INLD leader Chautala claimed that the ruling Congress was throttling the voice of the opposition on the price rise issue. He said that the suspension of all opposition legislators showed the dictatorial attitude of the Congress towards issues concerning the common man.