Himachal Congress lawmakers in Gandhigiri protest
March 19th, 2012 - 8:19 pm ICT by IANS
Shimla, March 19 (IANS) Taking their Gandhigiri protest against corruption a step further, Congress party legislators donned white Gandhi caps, a la Anna Hazare, in the Himachal Pradesh assembly Monday.
As the house met, opposition leader Vidya Stokes stood up and said: “Our protest (against Health Minister Rajeev Bindal over allegations of corruption) would continue.”
“But to maintain the dignity of the august house, we have decided to sit and listen to the budget speech. This is our way of protest,” she said.
As Stokes ended her brief address, she donned a white cap.
All the 23 Congress legislators in the 68-member assembly donned the white cap as a mark of protest against corruption.
Later, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget for 2012-13.
The Congress’s protest entered the sixth consecutive day Monday.
It has been demanding an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into allegations of corruption against Bindal. It also demanded the minister’s removal from the cabinet.
Congress legislators took to ‘Gandhigiri’ March 15, gagging themselves with black bands in the house.
They held a silent protest, not uttering a single word during question hour.
Dhumal has already given a clean chit to Bindal on the charges of corruption in the assembly.
- Himachal Congress boycotts minister in assembly - Mar 20, 2012
- Congress legislators gag up with black bands - Mar 15, 2012
- Himachal minister resigns amid assembly uproar (Lead) - Mar 12, 2012
- Himachal legislator for 'no work, no pay' in house - Mar 16, 2012
- Opposition Congress at receiving end (Himachal Pradesh Newsletter) - Mar 18, 2012
- Stalemate continues in Himachal assembly - Mar 14, 2012
- Ruckus in Himachal assembly over corruption - Mar 13, 2012
- Himachal minister resigns - Mar 12, 2012
- On average, five walkouts a year by Congress in Himachal - Aug 30, 2012
- Dhumal rejects health minister's resignation - Mar 13, 2012
- Graft, scams hog limelight in Himachal assembly (Himachal Pradesh Newsletter) - Apr 01, 2012
- Himachal health minister's resignation accepted - Jul 05, 2012
- Himachal BJP legislator again challenges party - Jul 05, 2012
- Himachal BJP rebels seek probe against minister - Mar 02, 2012
- Ruling BJP in trouble ahead of assembly polls (Himachal Pradesh Newsletter) - Feb 05, 2012
Tags: anna hazare, budget speech, cbi, central bureau of investigation, chief minister, clean chit, congress party, corruption, finance portfolio, gandhi, health minister, himachal pradesh, independent probe, legislators, member assembly, opposition leader, rajeev, silent protest, single word, white cap