'Undignified' conduct of oppn in RS hurt Bihar's pride, people will give befitting reply:NDA leaders

The heckling of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh in the House during the passage of farm bills has "hurt" Bihar's pride, and people of the state will give a befitting reply to opposition parties for this, top leaders of the state's ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

The heckling of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh in the House during the passage of farm bills has "hurt" Bihar's pride, and people of the state will give a befitting reply to opposition parties for this, top leaders of the state's ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance said on Monday.  Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said whatever happened in Rajya Sabha on Sunday was very wrong and the more it is condemned, the less it would be.  He was speaking at a virtual programme attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects and inaugurated optical fibre internet services.  Kumar said his government had done away with agriculture produce market committees (APMC) in 2006, and noted that opposition parties like the RJD had then created a ruckus in a similar way and "ran away" from a debate. It has benefitted farmers in the state and now they will benefit across the country, he said. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said people of the state, where assembly polls will be held soon, will give a befitting reply over the opposition's "undignified" behaviour in Rajya Sabha.  Harivansh is a respected person in Bihar and across the country, and this incident has hurt the state's pride, he said, adding that the "people of Bihar will give a befitting reply". Kumar said a section of people -- a reference to middlemen -- who were part of the trade of farmers' produce had benefitted from the existing order, that and the new changes will benefit the farming community. Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members.

After a heated debate, Rajya Sabha passed the two bills amid a bedlam as some opposition members, ignoring the COVID-19 protocol, charged towards the podium of Deputy Chairman Harivansh, flung the rule book at him and tore official papers. They yanked his microphone and heckled him over their demand for a division of vote on their motion to refer the legislation to a select committee.

Harivansh is a MP of the JD(U), which is headed by Kumar, in the Upper House..

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