MLA assaulted near Assembly

Sujay Mehdudia

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, NOV. 28.In a bizarre incident indicating a serious breach of security, the Scheduled Caste Congress(I) MLA, Mr. Roop Chand, was manhandled by a group of unidentified young men belonging to Samta Sanik Dal and his face and clothes were smeared with grease paint inside the Vidhan Sabha premises here this afternoon.

The incident took place after the delegation led by Mr. Tejeshwar Singh, general secretary, Samta Sanik Dal, met the Chief Minister and thanked her for passing a resolution for installation of a statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, in the Assembly premises. After the meeting at around 1-15 p.m., the delegation was going back when they encountered Mr. Roop Chand, near the office of the Development Minister, Dr. Yoganand Shastri.

These new shouting slogans in favour of Dr. Ambedkar and against Mr. Roop Chand, who had lodged his formal protest in the Vidhan Sabha against the installation of the statue, handed over a piece of paper to Mr. Chand. However, the Congress(I) MLA tore the paper. This provoked the men, around 15 in number, and they attacked Mr. Roop Chand. All this happened in full view of the security personnel standing outside the room of the Speaker, Chaudhary Prem Singh, who was away at a lunch hosted by Dr. Shastri.

This group not only kicked, pushed and slapped Mr. Roop Chand, in full view of partymen and some MLAs, but also smeared his face with black paint. This continued for 15 minutes and was brought to a halt by the Transport Minister, Mr. Parvez Hashmi, who was the first to reach the spot.

However, the protesters managed to escape without being challenged by the security personnel standing on the main entry gate or those manning the Vidhan Sabha premises. Later, the Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dixit, was informed of the incident and she took up the matter with the Speaker.

Inside the House, the BJP members raised the issue of breach of security and termed the incident as serious. They urged the Speaker to ask the police to take action and arrest these responsible for this incident. Mr. Roop Chand also made a formal complaint to the Speaker. But what was surprising was that no member of the Congress party came to aid of Mr. Roop Chand.

The Speaker informed the House that he had asked the DCP to look into the incident and come out with a report. He urged him to lodge a formal complaint against those who were involved in the incident.

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