Patna: The budget session of the two houses of Bihar got off to a noisy start today with opposition RJD MLAs shouting anti-government slogans and making abortive attempts to disrupt Governor Devanand Konwar`s customary address at the joint sitting.
Konwar was heard repeatedly requesting the agitating MLAs and MLCs to take their seats and allowing the house to function during his address.
"Please allow democracy to function ... you are not going to get any benefits by raising your voice ... Go to the fields, show your strength ... Don`t disturb me here," Konwar repeated as RJD MLAs, including Akhtarul Imam, Bhai Birendra and Samrat Choudhary and Congress MLC Jyoti Kumari along with their colleagues attempted to disrupt the proceedings.
The Opposition MLAs waved placards charging the state government with being ineffective and accused it of snatching the rights of the backward people and failing on all fronts.
He went on reading out the text of his address as ruling NDA members led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy S K Modi thumped their desks to express support.
In his hour-long speech, Konwar spoke of the state government`s achievements, ongoing efforts to tackle to corruption and establish law and order and ensure development with justice, besides expansion of industrial network and improvement in infrastructure and adopting welfare schemes.
Konwar said the state government had embarked on `development yatra with justice` to reach the benefits of development schemes to the weak and deprived sections.
"Nitish Kumar government is sincerely and relentlessly trying to establish a new dimension in the fields of agriculture, education, health, roads and bridge construction with the use of the limited resources it has."
He said the state government had achieved success in establishing and creating an atmosphere of development by ensuring peace, harmony and amity proving itself to be a responsible, sensitive administration by turning the challenges into opportunities.
He spoke at length of the measures taken by the state government to stamp out corruption with its `zero-tolerance policy` adding that properties of corrupt public servants are being confiscated under Bihar Special Court Act 2009. There were reports of 74 trap cases in 2011 alone.
"The state government has enacted a strong and effective Lokayukta legislation with Chief Minister, all ministers, former Chief Ministers, besides senior officials employees brought under its purview," he said.
At the end of his speech, Konwar while moving out of the house went to the seat of the Congress MLC and asked her to "go out to raise your voice in the field".
IANS
