A PIL was filed in the Jharkhand High Court against this decision. state assembly, calling it a “strike on secularism” and the protests marked the assembly proceedings as several BJP MLAs came posing as Hindu priests. They wanted the speaker to call a lunch break 30 minutes before the scheduled time on Tuesday so that BJP MLAs can pray to Lord Hanuman.
Samajwadi Party MLA from Kanpur Irfan Solanki on Tuesday said that he has approached the Speaker of the UP Assembly and demanded a prayer hall in the assembly premises.
In Patna, BJP MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur Bacholl on Tuesday demanded a room in the Bihar Assembly to chant “Hanuman Chalisa” or recite “Bhagavad Gita”. “I have spoken to Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Tuesday, but he has not yet promised to fulfill my demand,” Bachol said.
Meanwhile, a PIL was filed in the Jharkhand HC on Tuesday against allotment of a separate room for offering prayers inside the state assembly building.
Terming the move as a strike against secularism, petitioner Bhairav Singh submitted that the assembly is a public building and allotting a room to a particular class or community is secular and against the social fabric of the society.
Protests erupted in the Jharkhand assembly on Tuesday as several BJP MLAs arrived to attend the proceedings dressed as priests to protest Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto’s September 2 notification, which included a separate section to offer prayers. The room was allotted.
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