'Behave,' says Bihar Assembly Speaker to lawmakers after spat over coarse language

A spat between an RJD member and a BJP MLA over use of unparliamentary language led to adjournment of the Bihar assembly on Wednesday, following which Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary asked all the members to behave properly and not to lower the dignity of the House. It started during the question hour when Minor Irrigation Minister Narendra Narayan Yadav was replying to a query of BJP's Anil Singh on irregularities in digging of a canal in Nawada district.

During Yadav's reply, Bhai Virendra of the RJD stood up on a point of order and said in a lighter vein that the members are learning "Ka, Kha, Ga" (Hindi alphabet) from the minister. On this, BJP's Niraj Kumar Singh asked Virendra to learn how to wear a kurta first and described why his  (Virendra's) kurta was not in proper order.

This angered Virendra and other RJD members who created a ruckus forcing the speaker to adjourn the House. Outside the House, RJD MLAs alleged that Niraj Singh used indecent language to their member but the BJP leader denied the charge.

Later in the post-lunch session, RJD's Prahlad Yadav demanded that Niraj Kumar Singh express regret for using unparliamentary language against Virendra.

Virendra too said that the RJD member (Niraj Singh) used indecent language while pointing a finger at him. Speaker Choudhary then asked the members to avoid the use of unparliamentary language or gesture.

"Unpleasant things have taken place in my presence in the House. If anyone uses unparliamentary language, it lowers the dignity of the House. I believe that every member understands this very well," he said.

Without naming anyone, the speaker said, "The incident was improper and unfortunate. Whosoever may have done this, such things have no place in parliamentary system. We all regret such improper incident."